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KUNG  FU  TZE 


A  DRAMATIC   POEM 


BY  ^ 

PAUL  CARUS 


Bfiir^Sc  mnikK 


'What  ye  wish  not  done  unto  you, 
Do  ye  not  unto  others." 

— Confucius. 


LONDON         CHICAGO 

THE  OPEN  COURT  PUBLISHING  CO. 

1915 


Copyright  by 

THE  OPEN  COURT  PUBLISHING  CO.,  Chicago 

1915 


FOREWORD. 

In  the  present  work,  "K'ung  Fu  Tze,  a  Dramatic  Poem," 
the  author  does  not  intend  to  offer  a  drama  of  the  usual 
style,  with  thrilling  adventures,  plots  and  hairbreadth 
escapes,  but,  as  the  subtitle  states,  "a  dramatic  poern."  In 
a  most  concise  form  adapted  to  the  stage,  the  composition  rep- 
resents Confucianism  in  its  origin  and  according  to  the 
sources.  Dramatic  action  and  stage  effects,  which  we  would 
not  be  without  in  the  drama,  have  not  been  overlooked  ;  in 
fact  threy  are  obviously  present.  But  the  author's  main 
object  has  been  to  work  out  for  the  English-speaking  public 
a  presentation  of  the  Chinese  religio-ethical  world-conception 
in  the  dramatized  life  of  its  founder,  K'ung  Ni,  commonly 
called  K'ung  Fu  Tze,  who  has  moulded  the  history  of  China 
and  is  still  the  main  factor  in  the  public  and  private  life  of 
his  native  country. 

In  undertaking  a  work  of  this  kind,  which  in  the  author's 
opinion  is  a  highly  desirable  task,  the  temptation  at  once  offers 
itself  to  sacrifice  truth  to  beauty,  or  rather  to  the  taste  of 
to-day;  to  neglect  history  for  the  sake  of  art,  i.e.,  of  ephemeral 
art  interpretation ;  and  to  change  the  traditional  figure  of 
our  hero  into  a  modernized  manikin  who  would  be  likely  to 
arouse  the  applause  of  the  galleries.  It  is  a  temptation,  and 
the  temptation  is  great  because  it  promises  success;  it  would 
be  irresistible  if  the  object  were  pecuniary  profit.  And  it 
would  be  so  easy!  It  is  much  easier  to  let  a  sage  who  lived 
almost  two  and  a  half  millenniums  ago  speak  like  a  reformer 
of  to-day  and  to  adapt  the  age  in  which  he  attempted  to 
introduce  his  ideals,  to  the  customs  and  thoughts  of  our  own 
days.  Moreover,  we  could  invent  thrilling  and  impossible 
stories  of  court  intrigues,  of  our  hero's  rise  to  power  and  his 
final  downfall,  and   the   result  would  be  that  the  audience 


6  Foreword 

would  find  entertainment  for  an  evening,  the  spectators 
would  applaud  and  go  home  satisfied.  The  author  has  ab- 
stained from  modernizing  the  subject  except  where  certain 
modernizations  are  indispensable  to  render  it  intelligently  into 
a  modern  language.  But  the  author  has  not  written  for  glor}% 
nor  has  he  contemplated  a  business  success  on  the  stage. 
His  intention  is  to  chisel  out  in  dramatically  presentable  form 
the  character  and  destiny  of  a  man  who  has  been  the  hero 
in  the  moral  development  of  a  great  nation.  He  has  not 
ventured  to  change  the  main  outlines  of  tradition,  not  because 
he  was  too  pedantic  to  do  so,  but  because  he  sees  in  the  history 
of  human  development  a  higher  mode  of  art.  History  to  him 
appears  as  a  divine  drama,  whose  author  is  God  himself. 

In  ancient  Greece  the  drama  was  a  religious  performance 
and  at  Athens  it  was  deemed  so  important  that  citizens  were 
paid  a  day  laborer's  price  to  enable  even  the  poor  man  to 
attend  it.  In  this  country  the  drama  is  a  business  proposition 
designed  to  while  away  the  evening  by  a  pleasing  enter- 
tainment. The  time  may  come  when  the  artistic  feature 
of  the  drama  will  be  in  demand.  In  many  cities  theaters 
are  closed  on  Sundays ;  but  the  true  drama  is  religious  in  its 
inmost  nature  and  is  or  ought  to  be  as  good  as,  if  not  better 
than,  a  sermon  in  church. 

Tradition  is  in  the  habit  of  idealizing  its  heroes,  and  that 
is  part  of  history.  It  was  not  Jesus  who  founded  the  church, 
but  Christ;  not  Gautama  Siddhartha  who  gave  rise  to  Bud- 
dhism, but  the  Tathagata,  the  World-honored  Buddha;  not 
Mohammed  who  established  Islam,  but  the  Prophet;  and 
these  factors  existed  before  the  persons  in  whom  they  became 
incarnate  and  who  developed  into  superpersonalities  after 
their  deaths.  This  is  the  case  also  with  Confucius.  The 
ideal  of  a  sage,  a  superior  thinker,  an  overman,  a  master, 
existed  before  Confucius,  and  Confucius  believed  in  the  ideals 
of  the  past.  He  laid  no  claim  to  supernatural  revelation, 
but  later  generations  adopted  his  doctrines  as  inspired,  as 
infallible,  as  divine. 

Upon  the  whole  the  author  has  followed  tradition,  for  he 
did  not  deem  it  right  in  this  drama  to  make  innovations  or  to 


Foreword  ' 

substitute  modern  views  for  tlie  old  Chinese  ideals.  Con- 
fucius appears  here  as  he  is  represented  in  Confucian  litera- 
ture, not  always  to  our  taste,  not  as  a  warlike  Saxon,  not  as 
a  bold  reformer  like  Luther,  not  as  a  brave  fighter  or  original 
thinker,  or  as  a  pioneer,  but  as  a  prophet  of  peace,  as  a  quiet 
enthusiast  for  authority  and  an  admirer  of  the  venerable  past 
that  has  laid  the  basis  for  civilization.  The  changes  which 
have  been  introduced  for  the  sake  of  adapting  certain  events 
to  dramatic  effectiveness  are  few  and  of  secondary  significance. 
So  in  history  the  man  who  married  the  niece  of  Confucius 
was  not  Mang-I  himself  but  Nan  Yung,  probably  a  cousin 
of  Mang-I.  The  name  of  the  sage's  niece  is  not  known  nor 
is  her  character  an  absolute  type  of  the  Confucian  ideal  of 
womanhood,  but  this  deviation  is  made  purposely.  The 
ideal  woman  of  Confucian  ethics  would  be  almost  impossibly 
monotonous,  and  we  know  from  the  Book  of  Odes  that  some 
of  the  actions  and  sentiments  of  Chinese  women  were  more 
human  than  the  sage  himself  would  approve. 

The  scene  that  is  placed  near  the  end  of  Act  II  did  not 
happen  in  Lo  after  the  meeting  with  Lao  Tze  in  518  B.  C, 
but  much  later  in  Confucius's  life,  in  495,  in  Chang,  south  of 
the  state  of  Wei.  I  will  also  mention  that  Confucius  was 
called  to  of^ce  in  497,  much  later  than  might  be  assumed  by 
the  context  of  this  drama;  at  least,  the  lapse  of  nineteen  years 
between  Acts  III  and  IV  is  not  emphasized.  Likewise  the 
incident  of  the  crazy  man  referred  to  in  the  second  scene  of 
Act  IV  also  happened  about  ten  years  earlier. 

The  picture  here  given  is  genuine  in  all  essential  points, 
and  the  contrast  between  Confucius  and  his  rival,  the  philos- 
opher Lao  Tan  {alias  Lao  Tze),  is  true  to  life.  We  see 
the  man  K'ung  as  he  was,  and  Confucianists  wall  have  no 
reason  to  find  fault  with  the  characterization  of  their  master. 

The  author  has  neither  added  embellishments  to,  nor 
detracted  aught  from,  the  man  and  his  ideals;  nor  have  the 
defects  of  the  great  teacher  been  hidden.  Indeed  we  can 
understand  how  the  habitual  teaching  and  moralizing  must 
sometimes  have  excited  the  admiration  of  his  contemporaries 
and  sometimes  have  bored  them.     Above  all,  we  shall  find 


8  Foreword 

here  an  opportunity  to  understand  the  great  success  of  the 
sage  bj-  considering  the  impression  he  made  on  his  contem- 
poraries as  well  as  on  succeeding  generations.  We  see  before 
us  the  esprit  de  corps  that  ensouled  his  disciples  whose  love 
and  faith  finally  elevated  their  master  to  the  high  plane  of 
a  divine  prophet,  to  the  rank  of  such  men  as  Zarathustra, 
Buddha,  Christ  and  Mohammed. 

It  is  a  question  whether  such  subjects  as  the  lives  of  these 
great  religious  leaders  should  be  dramatized  at  all,  but  the 
author  is  strongly  inclined  to  affirm  that  the  deepest  problems 
of  mankind,  the  religious  solutions  of  the  world-riddle  as 
offered  under  different  conditions  in  past  ages  by  the  leaders 
of  human  thought,  are  most  appropriate  subjects  for  dramatic 
presentation,  and  the  time  will  come  when  our  theater-going 
public  will  demand  to  see  them.  Then  the  poet  should  not 
of¥er  fantastic  fabrications  out  of  the  wealth  of  his  imagina- 
tion, but  should  make  himself  the  mouthpiece  of  that  greatest 
of  all  poets,  God, — the  God  of  history,  the  God  of  human 
progress,  the  God  of  evolution. 

In  this  spirit  and  with  this  ideal  in  view,  the  present 
dramatic  poem  has  been  written,  and,  if  this  style  of  dramatic 
treatment  should  not  be  according  to  the  taste  of  the  present 
generation,  the  author  feels  that  the  future  is  preparing  when 
it  will  find  response  and  be  appreciated. 

*  *  * 

A  few  comments  may  be  added  to  explain  the  Chinese 
world-conception. 

God,  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  word,  the  one  and  only 
God,  creator  and  sustainer  of  the  world,  has  been  known  in 
Chinese  history  since  time  immemorial  under  the  name  of 
Shang  Ti,  the  Lord  on  High.  However,  Shang  Ti  has 
not  been  in  immediate  touch  with  the  minds  and  consciences 
of  the  Chinese  people.  His  recognition  is  more  theoretical 
and  does  not  enter  into  practical  life.  He  is  worshiped  by 
the  emperor  annually  in  a  holocaust  offered  him  at  Peking 
on  the  altar  of  Heaven. 

Though  Shang  Ti  is  always  spoken  of  as  a  personal  God, 
he  is  frequently  identified  by  philosophers  with  a  philosophic 


Foreword  9 

principle.  Confucius  speaks  little  of  Shang  Ti,  but  much  of 
Heaven  in  the  sense  of  Providence,  and  Lao  Tze  calls  God 
ivan  ivuh  chi  tsung,  which  means  "Ancestor"  or  "Arch- 
Father  of  the  ten  thousand  things"  (see  the  Tao  Teh  King  or 
The  Canon  of  Reason  and  I  iriiw.  Chap.  IV,  1).  Lao 
Tze  practically  lets  aboriginal  reason,  the  Tao,  take  the  place 
of  Shang  Ti  in  the  sense  of  the  divine  principle  that  governs 
the  world,  and  these  views  are  quite  common  throughout  the 
writings  of  Chinese  philosophers. 

According  to  the  Chinese  world-conception  all  things  arc 
assumed  to  be  mixtures  of  two  opposites,  the  Yang  and  the 
Yin,  of  which  Yang  is  the  positive,  and  Yin  the  negative  ele- 
ment. The  former  means  strong,  lord-like,  luminous,  and  is 
represented  in  nature  by  heaven  ;  the  latter,  being  womanly, 
weak,  submissive,  is  represented  by  earth.  The  former  was 
originally  pictured  as  a  white  disk,  thus:  O.  ^^'^  later  on  as  a 
straight  whole  line,  thus:  ;  the  latter  originally  as  a 

black  disk,  thus:  9,  later  as  a  broken  line,  thus:  —  — . 
In   their  combination   they  were   represented   by  a  peculiar 

symbol,  thus,  1^^  called   T'ai  Chi,  which  means  the  Great 

Ultimate  or  the  Grand  Extreme,  also  translated  the  Ulti- 
mate or  Absolute.*  Chi  originally  denoted  the  gable  of  a 
roof,  and  so  represents  the  idea  of  the  topmost  or  ultimate 
outcome  of  thought,  or  as  western  philosophers  would  say, 
"the  Absolute."  In  its  undifferentiated  form  it  is  com- 
monly represented  as  a  luminous  orb. 

A  Chinese  philosopher  would  make  the  same  statement 
that  we  find  in  the  Bible,  "In  the  beginning  God  created 
the  heaven  and  the  earth  ;"  but  he  would  interpret  the  words 
"heaven  and  earth"  in  a  more  general  sense,  in  a  philosophical 
and  almost  mathematical  conception,  meaning  by  heaven  the 
principle  Yang  and  by  earth  the  principle  Yin. 

In  Chinese  history  the  founder  of  civilization  w^as  Fu  Hi. 
He  was  the  first  of  the  primitive  five  rulers  of  China,  and  he 
was  credited   with   the   invention   of  writing,   or   rather  of 

"Also  transcribed  T'ai  Kih.  See  the  author's  Chinese  Philosophy, 
pp.  24  ff. 


10  Foreword 

thought  symbols,  especially  the  combinations  of  the  Yang 
and  Yin  in  sets  of  three,  called  in  Chinese  kwa  or  trigrams. 

Later  on,  the  trigrams  were  doubled  and  formed  hexa- 
grams, sixt.v-four  combinations  of  which  are  possible,  and  the 
mystical  meaning  of  these  constitutes  the  subject  matter  of 
the  ancient  Book  of  Changes,  called  in  Chinese  Yih  King. 

The  Yih  King^  is  a  book  of  divination,  and  tradition  con- 
nects with  it  the  fate  of  Wen  Wang,  the  ancestor  of  the 
imperial  house  of  Chow.  Details  with  regard  to  this  man 
and  his  sons,  Wu  Wang  and  Chow  Kung,  are  well  worth 
knowing  on  account  of  the  significance  they  possessed  in  the 
opinion  of  Confucius.  Wen  Wang,  i.  e.,  "Scholarly  Ruler," 
is  the  posthumous  appellation  of  Ch'ang  whose  title  in  his 
lifetime  was  Si  Peh,  i.  e.,  "Chief  of  the  West."  He  was 
hereditary  chieftain  of  the  principality  of  K'i  in  the  territory 
of  the  modern  Shen-si.  The  last  emperor  of  the  house  of 
Yin,  Chow  Sin,  characterized  in  Chinese  history  as  "the 
abandoned  tyrant,"  caused  Ch'ang,  the  Chief  of  the  West, 
to  be  imprisoned,  because  one  of  the  imperial  advisers,  Hu, 
the  earl  of  Ts'ung,  regarded  him  as  dangerous  on  account  of 
his  virtues. 

While  held  in  durance  for  two  j^ears  at  Yew  Li,  the 
"Scholarly  Ruler"  pondered  over  the  meaning  of  the  Yih, 
the  changes  or  permutations  of  the  hexagrams,  and  derived 
from  them  the  hope  of  a  final  delivery  and  a  brighter  future. 
His  expectations  were  fulfilled,  and  his  son  Fa,  best  known 
under  the  posthumous  title  Wu  Wang,  crossed  the  Hwang 
Ho  at  the  ford  of  Meng  and  overthrew  the  abandoned  tyrant 
Chow  Sin  in  battle  on  the  plains  of  Muh,  whereupon  he  was 
recognized  as  emperor. 

Wu  Wang  was  supported  by  his  younger  brother.  Tan,  the 
fourth  son  of  the  Chief  of  the  West,  Wen  Wang,  and  known 
in  history  as  Chow  Kung,  the  Duke  of  Chow.  On  the  death 
of  his  imperial  brother,  Wu  Wang,  this  Duke  of  Chow  acted 

1.  On  the  Yih  King  see  the  author's  Chinese  Philosophy,  p.  7,  and 
Chinese  Thought,  pp.  26-36.  As  to  the  probable  connection  which 
this  method  of  divination  had  historically  with  the  Urim  and 
Thumraim,  see   The  Oracle  of  Yahveh,  pp.  27-34. 


Foreword  11 

as  guardian  of  his  nephew,  the  child  emperor,  and  his  virtue 
is  praised  as  highly  as  that  of  the  ancient  rulers  Yao  and  Shun. 

»  *  » 

Confucius  was  born  in  551  B.  C.  At  17  years  of  age  he 
held  a  position  as  superintendent  of  an  estate.  The  first 
and  second  acts  of  our  drama  play  in  the  j'ear  518  B.  C, 
when  Mang-I,  the  son  of  the  minister  Mang  Hsi,  joins  the 
sage  and  they  visit  together  the  city  of  Lo,  capital  of  the 
state  Chow,  and  the  home  of  the  old  philosopher  Lao  Tze. 
The  second  act  takes  place  soon  after  the  return  of  K'ung 
Tze  and  Mang-I  to  their  home  in  the  state  of  Lu.  In  the 
third  act  we  find  Confucius  installed  as  minister  of  justice, 
but  he  feels  compelled  to  leave  his  post  on  account  of  the 
arrival  of  the  singing  damsels  sent  to  Duke  Ling  as  a  present 
by  the  Duke  of  Ts'in.  The  last  act  shows  us  the  end  of  the 
sage's  career  and  his  death,  which  took  place  in  479  A.  D. 
His  faithful  disciple  Tze  Kung  sees  in  a  vision  the  pos- 
thumous honors  first  bestowed  upon  Confucius  by  Kao  Ti, 
the  founder  of  the  Han  dynasty,  who  ascended  the  throne 
in  202  B.  C. 

The  books  of  Confucius  were  proscribed,  together  with  all 
other  literature  except  the  writings  on  divination,  agriculture 
and  medicine,  by  the  order  of  She  Hwang  Ti',  the  founder  of 
the  Ts'in  dynasty,  in  the  year  213  B.  C.  but  the  Ts'in  dy- 
nasty was  of  short  duration.  Emperor  Kao  Ti  and  his  suc- 
cessors of  the  house  of  Han  did  their  best  to  have  the  lost 
treasures  restored.  The  emperor  P'ing  Ti  had  a  temple  erect- 

2.  She  Hwang  Ti  was  the  first  emperor  to  assume  the  title 
Ti,  implying  the  divine  nature  of  a  ruler's  sovereign  authority. 
His  name  was  Cheng  and  he  is  best  known  in  history  as  the 
builder  of  the  great  wall.  According  to  tradition  he  was  the  son 
of  the  concubine  of  Chwang  Siang  Wang,  the  Duke  of  Ts'in,  and 
the  latter's  minister  of  state,  Lu  Pu  Wei.  He  ascended  the  throne 
of  Ts'in  and  subdued  the  other  vassals  of  China,  thus  creating  a 
large  empire  and  abolishing  its  feudal  constitution.  Hence  his 
hostile  attitude  toward  the  ancient  literature.  He  was  a  man  of 
unusual  ability  and  a  ruler  of  indomitable  energy,  but  hated  by 
the  literati.  See  William  Frederick  Mayers,  Chinese  Reader's 
Manual,  Pari  I,  Nos.  465  and   597. 


12  '  Foreword 

ed  in  the  year  1  A.  D.,  where  sacrifices  were  offered  to  Con- 
fucius in  company  with  the  ancient  model  of  virtue,  Chow 
Kung.  The  titles  under  which  the  sage  was  revered  changed 
slightly,  but  remained  the  same  in  spirit.  They  were  "Illus- 
trious Duke  Ni,"  "Lord  of  Complete  Praise,"  then  "Prince  of 
Illustrious  Learning,"  "Sage  of  Antiquity,"  "Most  Perfect 
Sage,"  etc.  In  the  year  1743  the  musical  portion  of  Con- 
fucius worship  was  regulated  by  imperial  decree  in  an  elab- 
orate st3'le  and,  as  we  may  assume,  in  a  conservative  fashion 
pretty  nearly  as   represented   in  Tze   Kung's  vision   at  the 

conclusion  of  our  drama. 

*  *  * 

The  Chinese  are  an  ethical  nation.  They  love  to  ponder 
on  ethics  and  in  actual  life  are  known  to  be  unusually  re- 
liable. Western  people  who  have  dealings  with  the  Chinese 
do  not  hesitate  to  characterize  them  as  more  trustworthy 
than  members  of  other  nations,  and  this  is  true  not  only  of 
"big  business"  men  but  even  of  the  cooly.  As  a  rule  China- 
men are  praised  for  adhering  to  their  contracts,  even  when 
rendered  unfavorable  by  changed  conditions. 

The  question  now  arises  whether  the  Chinese  have  ac- 
quired their  peculiar  love  of  moralizing  from  their  education 
which  has  come  down  to  them  from  Confucius  through  two 
and  a  half  millenniums,  or  whether  Confucius  has  become 
acceptable  to  them  as  a  teacher,  as  a  national  representative, 
because  his  doctrine  comes  nearest  to  the  Chinese  ideal. 
There  may  be  truth  in  either  proposition,  for  it  is  certain 
that  we  have  to  recognize  Confucius  as  the  representative 
type  of  Chinese  manhood  in  China's  classical  past. 

*     *     * 

The  essential  elements  of  a  tragedy  consist  in  the  endeavor 
of  a  man  to  stand  up  for  his  ideals.  In  doing  so  he  offers 
himself  and  the  best  efforts  of  his  life  as  a  sacrifice  for  his 
conviction,  and  whether  or  not  by  his  own  fault  suffers  defeat 
in  his  personal  interests,  while  from  the  wreckage  of  his  life 
his  ideals  come  out  after  his  death  in  triumphant  victory.  In 
this  sense  we  must  grant  that  Confucius  is  a  tragic  figure. 
Confucius  passed   through   all   these  stages   and   is   now   the 


Foreword  13 

• 

Christ  of  China,  the  divine  revealer  of  truth,  the  teacher  of 
right  conduct.  As  Christ  died  in  despair  with  the  exclama- 
tion Eli,  Eli,  liuna  sabachthani,  so  Confucius  ended  in  deep 
despondence  with  the  words,  "My  teaching  is  finished."  But 
after  his  death,  when  his  mortal  coil  had  been  shuffled  off  and 
all  personal  ambition  had  been  lost,  his  ideals  were  recog- 
nized, and  as  the  representative  of  all  moral  aspirations  he 
rose  to  the  dignity  of  a  superpersonal  presence  in  the  religious 
world-conception  of  his  nation. 

In  the  present  drama  we  witness  the  growing  enthusiasm 
of  the  disciples  of  Confucius  and  the  spirit  of  comradeship 
among  them  that  developed  from  their  admiration  for  their 
master  and  his  ideals.  The  personal  ambition  of  Confucius 
to  introduce  his  doctrines  himself  as  a  minister  of  state  was 
only  temporarily  realized  and  he  was  compelled  to  retire 
into  seclusion.  For  the  rest  of  his  life  he  tried  in  vain  to  be 
the  leader,  the  teacher,  the  authorized  adviser  of  some  gov- 
ernment. Possibly  his  personal  ambition  was  a  mistake. 
We  are  inclined  to  think  that  he  should  not  have  sought  the 
official  appointment  of  one  of  the  rulers  of  his  time;  but  even 
his  intention  to  have  his  reforms  introduced  legally,  by  the 
sanction  of  some  legitimate  administration  instead  of  by  a 
revolution,  was  part  of  his  scheme  of  moral  ideals.  He  found 
no  response  while  he  lived,  but  after  his  death  his  fame  spread 
all  over  China  and  later  generations  accepted  his  doctrines 
willingly.  In  spite  of  many  defects  in  his  philosophy  and  the 
justice  of  the  criticism  of  his  rival,  Lao  Tze,  he  was  recog- 
nized as  the  official  and  legitimate  revealer  of  morality. 

Confucius  has  become  the  hero  of  all  moral  aspiration  in 
China.  But  he  is  more ;  he  incorporates  the  purely  human. 
He  is  the  man  who  in  his  own  life  followed  the  principle 
not  to  do  unto  others  what  he  would  not  have  others  do  to 
him.  He  represents  the  natural  moral  good-will  which  is 
a  prominent  feature  in  the  life  of  humanity  everywhere,  and 
the  present  dramatic  poem  should  be  received  in  the  sense  of 
a  tragedy  describing  the  destiny  which  the  moral  hero  must 
naturally  encounter  in  ancient  China  or  elsewhere. 


CAST  OF  CHARACTERS 

K'ung  Fu  Tze    (Confucius) C 

Lady  Ch'ien  Kvvan,  Wife  of  Confucius Lady  C 

Niece  of  Confucius N 

Tze  Kung,  the  faithful  disciple Kung 

Ho  Chi,  called  Mang-I,  a  prince  of  aristocratic  appearance.  .Af. /. 

Chung  Yu,  styled  Tze  Lu,  the  courageous Lu 

Min  Sun,  styled  Tze  Ch'ien,  orator  and  diplomat Min 

Yen   Hui,  "Continuator  of  the  Sage";   the  favorite  disciple, 

much  younger  than  the  others Yen 

K'ung  Li,  the  son  of  Confucius Li 

K'ung  Chi,  the  grandson  of  Confucius,  a  boy  of  twelve  years, 
later  on  famous  as  the  author  of  "The  Doctrine  of  the 

Mean"    Chi 

Tze  Kao,  a  hunchback,  of  unusual  brightness Kao 

Li  Erh,  called  Lao  Tan  or  Lao  Tze,  the  old  philosopher,  op- 
posed to  Confucius L.  T. 

Lao  Tan's  attendant,  a  boy  or  half-grown  youth Boy 

Duke  Ting,  of  the  state  of  Lu Ting 

A  native  of  Lo,  the  capital  of  the  state    Chow Lo 

An  old  man,  displeased  with  his  son O.  M. 

A  young  man,  sued  by  his  father Son 

Liu  Pang,  emperor  Kao  Ti,  founder  of  the  Han  dynasty  and 
Institutor  of  Confucian  worship ;  ascended  the  throne 
B.  C.  202.    Appears  in  Tze  Kung's  vision Ti 

Bridesmaids,  groomsmen,  musicians  and  singing  damsels. 


ACT  I. 

SCENE  I. 

The  Reception  Room  of  Confucius  in  the  year  518 
B.  C.  In  the  background  an  entrance  wide 
enough  to  shoiv  two  persons  outside.  The  door 
opens  and  two  men,  TzE  KuNG  (Kung)  and 
Mang-I  (M.  I.)  are  seen  standing  outside  boiv- 
ing  to  each  other. 

Kung.     Please  enter,  sir! 

M.  I.  I  shall  not  be  so  rude 

As  to  take  precedence  before  my  betters. 

Kung.     I  am  a  simple  man  and  your  inferior; 

E'en  your  deportment  proves  your  higher  rank. 
Apparently  you  are  of  noble  birth. 
'Tis  not  your  dress  alone ;  I  see  quite  plainly 
You  are  accustomed  to  court  etiquette, 
While  I  am  but  a  modest  commoner. 

AI.  I.  Pray  do  not  estimate  my  birth  too  high. 
You  are  a  gentleman  of  great  distinction, 
Of  polished  manners  and  accomplishments. 

Kung.     You  are  too  kind  in  over-estimating 

My    worth.     Oh,    pray    shame    not    your    humble 

servant 
By  greater  courtesy.     Please  enter  first! 

M.  I.      Let  us  step  o'er  the  threshold  both  at  once. 

Kung.     That  would  behoove  me  not.     So  please  walk  in, 
And  I  will  follow  vou.     You  are  too  kind. 


16  K'uNG  Fu  TzE 

M.  I.      With  your  permission  I  will  enter,  then. 

Kung.     Pray  do  so,  sir. 

Maxg-I  enters  and  TzE  KuNG  folloivs. 
And  I  will  call  the  Master; 
But  kindly  tell  me,  sir,  what  kind  of  business 
Brings  you  to  him.     You  are ? 

M.  I.  1  am  Ho  Chi, 

Son  of  His  Excellence,  the  late  Mang  Hsi, 
State  Minister  of  Lu,  and  commonly 
Am  called  ]VIang-I. 

Kung.      [Bows   low]      Mang-I !      I'm   greatly   honored! 

I'm  Twan  Mu  Tze  and  am  addressed  Tze  Kung. 

I  come  from  Wei  and  I  take  pride  in  being 

A  pupil  of  the  Master,  K'ung  Fu  Tze. 

I  know  your  honorable  father  died 

But  a  few  weeks  ago,  and  all  the  people 

Sincerely  mourn  his  premature  demise. 

He  was  a  truly  good  and  honest  man. 

Rare  in  this  troubled  and  degenerate  age. 

ALL       [Bows]     My  father  simply  tried  to  do  his  duty; 
'Tis  all  that  he  accomplished  since  Duke  Chao 
Appointed  him  his  Minister  of  State. 
He  knew,  he  said,  that  he  was  unprepared 
For  his  high  duties.     When  he  came  to  die 
He  charged  me  to  do  better  and  to  learn. 
"There  is  K'ung  Ch'iu,"  he  said,  "a  master  sage 
Who's  commonly  addressed  as  K'ung  Fu  Tze. 
He  dwelleth  in  this  state  of  Lu,  and  he 
Knows  more  about  our  ancient  institutions, 
About  propriety  and  right  and  wrong, 
Than  any  living  mortal,  near  or  far. 
Go  thou,"  my  father  said,  "and  learn  from  him." 

Kung.     Blest  be  the  memory  of  your  dear  father. 

For  truly  he  was  right  in  what  he  thought 
Of  Master  K'ung.     Indeed  K'ung  is  a  sage. 
Some  time  ago  I  heard  his  knowledge  praised 


K'uNG  Fu  TzE  17 

And  went  to  him  ambitious,  proud  and  eager 
To  join  at  once  our  learned  noble  Master. 

M.I.      How  do  you  rank  our  K'ung  Fu  Tze  as  sage? 

Kung.     I  do  not  know,  nor  can  I  well  describe  it. 

I've  had  the  heavens  all  through  my  life  o'er  head, 
But  do  not  know  their  height.     I've  had  the  earth 
Beneath  my  feet,  but  do  not  know  its  depth. 
I  serve  the  Master,  learn  from  him;  his  wisdom 
Is  infinite  and  inexhaustible! 
I'm  like  a  thirsty  man  who,  with  a  pitcher, 
Goes  to  the  river's  brink.     I  draw  the  water 
And  drink  my  fill — pure  water — yet  know  not 
The  river's  depth  and  breadth  and  its  supply. 

M.l.      I  envy  thee,  Tze  Kung!     I  fain  would  follow 
This  same  good,  noble  Master,  K'ung  Fu  Tze! 

Kung.     And  thee  I  welcome  as  a  worthy  comrade! 
Thou  art  descended  from  a  noble  race, 
And  kin  thou  art  to  our  own  ducal  house. 

M.  I.      Thou  speakest  truly,  friend ;  my  family 
Is  old  and  powerful,  but  princely  birth 
Does  not  confer  a  merit  to  be  proud  of. 
It  is  the  merit  of  mine  ancestors, 
Not  of  mine  own,  and  I  must  live  to  earn  it. 
I  only  shall  deserve  my  noble  birth. 
If  I  in  thoughts  and  words  and  deeds  prove  noble, 
If  I  excel  in  wisdom,  truth  and  faith. 
And  if  my  soul  be  worthy  of  my  rank. 

Kung.     Such  is  the  man  I  love !     Such  is  my  Master ; 

For  you  may  know  perchance  that  K'ung  Fu  Tze 
Traces  descent  from  the  imperial  house 
Of  Yin.     His  ancestor  was  Fu  Fu  Ho, 
Best  by  his  title  known  as  the  Duke  Li, 
The  elder  brother  of  Fang  Sze ;  and  Fu 
Resigned  the  throne  in  favor  of  Fang  Sze. 

M.  I.      I  heard  of  it  before  but  was  not  certain. 


18  K'uNG  Fu  TzE 

Kung.     Oh,  if  I  were  of  noble  family 

Like  unto  K'ung  or,  sir,  like  unto  you, 
I  would  with  all  my  power  aspire  to  grow 
Worthy  the  honor  thus  inherited. 

M.  I.      You  are  my  friend,  and,  verily,  he  whom 

His  deeds  have  knighted  is  alone  a  knight. 
Those  who  by  noble  birth  are  noble,  are 
But  promises;  they  never  shall  be  noble 
Until  they  have  redeemed  their  obligations. 

Enter  Chung  Yu,  styled  TzE  Lu  (Lu),  and  MiN 
Sun  {Min),  styled  TzE  Ch'ien,  both  bowing 
to  Mang-I.  Kung  addresses  the  latter  ivith 
dignity,  by  way  of  introduction. 

Kung.     Ho  Chi,  son  of  His  Honor,  the  late  Mang  Hsi, 
And  styled  Mang-I,  here  are  the  two  disciples 
Of  our  great  master  K'ung,  whom  I  regard 
As  being  most  distinguished  in  our  ranks. 
You  will  be  pleased  to  meet  them,  and  the  more 
You  know  them  both,  the  better  you  will  like  them. 
Here  is  Min  Sun,  a  dear  good  fellow  student; 
He  is  addressed  Tze  Ch'ien.    And  here's  Chung  Yu, 
Known  as  Tze  Lu  and  also  called  Chi-Lu. 

M.  I.       [Addressing    MiN    SuN,    standing    nearest] 
Were  you  attracted  by  the  Master's  fame, 
And  djd  you  come  to  profit  by  his  wisdom? 

Min.       An  awkward  country  lad  I  hither  came. 

Kung.     But  see,  Mang-I,  what  K'ung  Tze  made  of  him. 
He  is  an  orator,  a  diplomat, 
A  man  who  has  command  of  choicest  speech ; 
Endowed  he  is  with  talent  for  persuasion. 
Oh,  it  is  wonderful  how  much  he's  changed ! 

Min.      Indeed  it  is,  and  all  is  K'ung  Tze's  work. 

Kung.     Excuse  me,  sir,  I'll  go  and  call  the  Master. 
I'll  tell  him  of  your  presence  and  describe 
The  merits  of  his  noble  visitor. 


K'uNG  Fu  TzE  19 

M.  I.      Pray,  friend  Tze  Kung,  do  not  exaggerate 
The  small  accomplishments  which  I  possess. 
(Exit  Kung,  boning  to  Mang-IJ 
[To  Min]     Your  home  is  in  the  rural  districts,  sir? 

Alin.       I  came  here  from  the  midst  of  reeds  and  sedges 

And  joined  the  school  of  our  revered  great  Master; 

He  trained  my  mind  to  filial  piety. 

Taught  me  the  examples  of  the  ancient  kings — 

And  how  I  loved  to  be  instructed!     How 

I  loved  to  learn  the  wisdom  of  our  sages ! 

But  then  another  picture  lured  me  on; 

I  saw  the  people  in  authority, 

With  all  their  pomp,  their  banners  and  umbrellas. 

In  gorgeous  dress,  surrounded  by  retainers. 

I  liked  these  shows,  and  jet  I  felt  distressed, 

Because  the  spectacles  did  not  agree 

With  all  that  I  had  learned  of  justice,  virtue 

And  of  propriety.     The  Master's  lessons, 

However,  have  sunk  deeply  in  my  heart. 

And  the  examples  of  my  fellow  students 

Have  also  helped  to  set  my  mind  at  rest. 

I  see  the  emptiness  of  all  the  pomp. 

And  I  regard  it  now  no  more  than  dust. 

I  value  virtue  now,  virtue  alone. 

This  solves  for  me  all  problems,  and  my  mind 

At  last  has  found  completest  satisfaction. 

j1/.  /.      I  know  you  follow  the  right  master,  sir. 
The  master  that  impressed  you  certainly 
A  paragon  of  wisdom  is  and  virtue. 
And  what  is  your  experience,  Tze  Lu?  [^turning  to 
Tze  Lu.] 

Lu.         I  sought  the  Master's  good  advice,  and  asked, 
"What  can  you  do  for  me?     And  how  may  I 
Profit  by  j'ou,  your  wisdom  and  your  learning?" 
Quoth  he:  "What  love  you  best?"  and  I  replied, 
"I  love  my  sword,  my  sharp  and  shining  sword." 
"Well,"  said  the  sage,  "your  stature  and  deportment 


20  K'uNG  Fu  TzE 

Bode  courage.     If  you  add  a  higher  training 

To  your  activities,  you  can  become 

Superior  and  a  man  of  sterling  worth." 

That  has  from  boyhood  e'er  been  my  ambition. 

Thought  I,  superior  men  are  born,  not  raised; 

And  so  I  ventured  to  object:     "There  grow 

Some  bamboo  stalks  here  on  the  southern  slope. 

So    straight    that    culture    could    not    make    them 

straighter; 
Their  fibers  are  so  strong  they  pierce  the  hide 
Of  a  rhinoceros."     And  he,  the  Master, 
Replied  with  calm  composure:     "It  is  true, 
Superior  men  are  born,  yet  even  they 
Need    training.     Aye!     Your    well-grown    bamboo 

stalk 
Can  do  far  greater  things  if  it  be  armed 
With  iron  point  and  winged  with  feathers.    Yea, 
The  arrow-maker  chooses  stalks  both  strong 
And  straight  to  make  good  arrows.     So  the  sage 
Needeth  disciples  of  good  character." 
That  day  I  joined  our  learned,  noble  Master 
And  am  convinced  that  I  have  found  the  man, 
The  only  man  who  leadeth  the  right  way. 

AI.  I.      You  are  the  man  for  me ;  let  us  be  friends ! 

The   door   opens.     Enter   CONFUCIUS    (CJ    with 
TZE   KUNG. 

Kung.     This  is  Mang-I,  son  of  His  Excellence, 
The  late  Prime  Minister  of  State. 

C.  Be  seated. 

My  noble  sir,  be  seated.     Let  me  hear 
What  I  can  do  for  you. 

M.  I.  My  father,  sir. 

In  due  appreciation  of  your  wisdom, 
Charged  me  in  his  last  will  and  testament 
To  ask  you  for  advice  and  kindly  guidance. 
And  bade  me  learn  from  you  the  principles 


K'uNG  Fu  TzE  21 

Of  government,  the  standard  and  the  rules 
Both  of  good  conduct  and  propriety. 
But  above  all,  I  need  a  thorough  knowledge 
Of  ancient  ceremonies  and  of  rites 
Sorely  neglected  in  our  present  day. 

C.  I  shall  do  all  I  can  for  you,  dear  sir, 

The  principles  are  easy — application, 
The  details  and  the  practice  difficult. 

ALL      I  humbly  beg  your  pardon,  honored  sir; 
I  am  no  scholar,  nor  a  sage  like  you. 
I  find  the  practice  frequently  quite  easy. 
I  know  how  to  conduct  and  bear  myself; 
It  seems  to  come  to  me  like  second  nature. 
The  principle  alone  'tis  puzzles  me. 

C.  Nature  has  made  this  world  relational, 

There  are  two  opposites,  the  Yang  and  Yin, 
Which  show  themselves  in  their  peculiar  mixtures 
Throughout  creation :  be  it  as  sun  and  moon, 
As  earth  and  heaven,  as  female  and  as  male, 
As  light  and  darkness,  or  as  day  and  night, 
As  positive  and  negative;  and  man. 
You  know  it  well,  is  mixed  of  earth  and  heaven. 
All  is  relational  in  human  life, 
And  there  are  five  relations,  all  ordained 
In  laws  of  nature  between  Yang  and  Yin. 
Yang  is  the  strong  and  lordly  part,  the  mover; 
Yin,  being  womanly  and  meek,  endureth. 
There's  the  relation  between  prince  and  subject. 
Between  a  father  and  his  son;  and  thirdly. 
Between  the  elder  and  the  younger  brother; 
Fourthly,  between  the  husband  and  his  wife; 
And  fifth  and  lastly,  between  a  friend  and  friend. 

M.  L      Blest  be  this  lucky  day  on  which  I  met  you ; 
But  pray,  dear  Master,  how  must  I  proceed 
To  profit,  to  advance,  to  learn  from  you? 


22  K'uNG  Fu  TzE 

C.  I  see  that  3'ou  are  vigorous  and  manly, 

Your    gait    and    stature    bode    both    strength    and 
courage. 

Lu.         Sir,  he  reminds  me  of  our  former  talk, 

He's  like  the  bamboo  on  the  southern  hill 

Which  grows  up  straight  and  has  no  nick  nor  bent, 

So  straight  that  culture  could  not  make  it  straighter. 

C.  But  culture  can  improve  on  nature's  work. 

M.  I.      Your  words  indeed  are  true,  and  I  will  learn 

The  lessons  that  you  teach.     You'll  find  me  ready 
To  accept  instruction  with  due  reverence. 
Before  I  leave,  sir,  may  I  be  permitted 
To  ask  a  special  favor? 

C.  Speak,  and  I 

Will  do  whatever  lies  within  my  power. 

M.  I.      The  ancient  capital  of  our  great  empire 
Is  many-peopled  Lo.     The  customs  there 
And  rites  are  still  observed  in  purest  form. 
The  ruler,  being  of  the  house  of  Chow, 
Is  emperor  at  least  in  name,  and  there 
The  archives  are ;  there  is  the  library 
Which  holds  the  choicest  lore  of  former  ages. 
The  temple  services  are  there  retained 
Now  as  in  olden  times,  and  there  at  court 
The  ceremonies  are  most  dignified. 
Would  you,  great  Master,  undertake  a  journey 
To  Lo,  the  seat  of  deepest  thought  and  learning, 
And  introduce  me  to  its  wondrous  treasures? 

C.  I  will,  dear  sir;  and  thou  shalt  be  to  me 

As  mine  own  son,  to  whom  I  shall  bequeathe 
The  deepest  words  of  wisdom  I  have  found. 

M.  I.      Our  gracious  overlord,  the  Duke  of  Lu, 

Is  well  acquainted  with  my  father's  wish ; 
He  has  approved  of  it,  and  biddeth  me 
To  send  his  royal  greetings  to  your  Honor. 


K'uNG  Fu  TzE  23 

He  says  that  he  will  speed  the  voyage  by 
Equipping  you  with  carriage  and  good  horses. 
He'll  give  you  letters  to  His  Majesty 
The  Emperor,  which  will  prepare  for  you 
A  dignified  reception,  and  will  open 
To  you  the  temples  and  the  archives. 

C.  Welcome, 

Most  welcome,  is  this  offer,  friend  Mang-I, 
And  most  auspicious  shall  this  journey  prove. 
In  Lo  there  lives  Li  Erh,  a  famous  sage 
Called  Lao  Kiien,  also  Lao  Tan 
Or  Lao  Tze,  the  old  philosopher, 
The  venerable  keeper  of  the  archives. 
He  sees  the  urgent  need  of  a  reform 
And  he  will  help  us  in  our  enterprise. 
He'll  smooth  our  paths,  and  his  authority 
Will  be  of  greatest  service  to  our  cause. 

SCENE  n. 

Courtyard  in  the  House  of  Confucius.  From  the 
door  on  the  right  the  NiECE  of  Confucius  (N.) 
peeps  out,  looking  expectantly  toward  the  door 
in  the  center.  She  uithdraws  quickly.  The 
door  in  the  center  opens  and  Lu  leads  out 
Mang-L  The  tii'o  ivalk  out  toward  the  right 
when  the  lady  comes  out  and  passes  them. 
Mang-I,  stepping  aside  to  make  room  for  her, 
hows  low  and  reverently ;  she  acknowledges  the 
salutation  by  a  slight  but  dignified  motion  of  her 
head  and  disappears  in  the  house. 

M.  I.      Pray  tell  me,  my  friend  Lu,  who  is  this  lady  ? 

Lu.         She  is  the  niece  of  our  great  Master,  K'ung. 

M.  I.      I  might  have  thought  she  is  some  kin  to  him — 
So  stately  and  superior,  a  true  lady. 
Forsooth,  it  can  be  seen  that  K'ung  Fu  Tze 


24  K'uNG  Fu  TzE 

A  scion  is  of  an  imperial  line ; 
Whatever  is  connected  with  the  sage 
Beareth  the  stamp  of  roj^alty. 

La.  You  know 

He  has  descended  from  the  house  of  Yin 
That  held  the  empire  for  six  centuries 
And  more,  until  Chow  Sin,  the  unworthy  tyrant, 
The  last  one  of  his  race  upon  the  throne, 
Was  vanquished  by  Wu  Wang,  the  war  king.  Fa, 
The  founder  of  the  present  dynasty, 
The  house  of  Chow  which  now  the  empire  holds. 

.1/.  /.      This  house  rules  but  in  name.     It  has  no  power, 
For  ever)'  prince  does  as  it  pleases  him. 
The  barons  are  no  better ;  nor  are  they 
In  turn  submissive  to  the  dukes,  their  princes. 
And  the  result  is  chaos — needing  reform. 

Lu.         Yea,  from  the  chaos  suffers  all  the  world. 
Our  wise  and  able  Master  tries  reform. 
And  a  reform  he  surely  will  achieve. 

SCENE  III. 

The  Women's  Apartment  in  Confucius'  House. 
Lady  Chien  Kwax  (L.  C),  the  ivife  of  Con- 
fucius, (jfid  his  Niece  (N.)  are  seen  engaged  in 
seiving. 

N.  Auntie,  Aunt  Chien,  is  it  wrong  to  look  at  a  man? 

L.  C.  What  do  you  mean,  dearie?  You  didn't  look  at  a 
man,  did  you  ?  [Looking  at  the  girl  ivith  a  serious  ex- 
pression of  reproof.^ 

[Niece  nods  with  a  roguish  smile  of  admission.] 
And  who  was  it? 

N.  I  don't  know.     He  was  a  stranger.     He  must  have 

been  visiting  uncle.     Oh,  he  was  a  man!     A  real 
man. 


K'uNG  Fu  TzE  ^  25 

L.  C.      You  met  him? 
[N.  nods  again. ^ 
I  hope  it  was  by  accident? 

N.  Certainly,  it  was  the  sheerest  accident.     He  came 

through  the  gate  when  I  looked  up  from  my  em- 
broidery and  gazed  through  the  window.  He 
couldn't  see  me.     He  was  hardly  like  a  man. 

L.  C.      You  called  him  just  now  a  real  man. 

N.  Oh,  yes,  a  real  man.     He  is  manly  but  he  looked 

more  than  a  man. 

L.  C.      Like  a  gentleman  ? 

A^.  Oh,   much   more!     There  was  something  superior 

about  him.  [I\Iusinff]  You  know,  auntie,  if  I 
were  a  sculptor  I  would  carve  Kwang  Ti,  the  great 
God,  the  war-lord,  like  him.  I  wonder  who  he  was. 
Really,  auntie,  I  am  not  curious,  but  perhaps  you 
could  ask  uncle  who  his  visitor  was? 

What  an  improper  suggestion!  Uncle  would  be 
indignant  to  learn  of  your  inquisitiveness. 

Would  he?  Oh,  I  don't  mean  anything  improper, 
I  only  wished  to  know  something  about  him.  You 
see,  he  might  inquire  about  me. 

How  could  he,  child?     He  didn't  see  you. 

Oh,  yes,  he  did.  [After  a  pause]  You  see,  while 
I  looked  out  of  the  window,  Tze  Lu  met  him. 
The  two  walked  together  and  went  to  the  house  to 
uncle.  I  watched  the  door  because — well,  because 
I  wondered — because  he  stayed  so  long. 

L.  C.  My  child,  I  am  alarmed.  I  have  never  noticed  in 
your  behavior  a  lack  of  propriety  and  I  must  say  that 
this  is — to  say  the  least — not  becoming  in  a  girl  of 
good  family.  How  can  you  take  any  interest  in  a 
strange  man! 


L. 

C 

N. 

L. 

C. 

N. 

26  K'uNG  Fu  TzE 

A'^.  I    took   no    interest   in    the   stranger.     I   was  only 

interested  in  uncle,  and  wondered  what  the  stranger 
had  to  say  to  him  and  what  uncle  might  think  of  the 
stranger.     Can't  I  be  interested  in  uncle? 

L.  C.      Oh,  certainly,  in  uncle,  but  you  say  the  stranger  saw 
you.     How  did  that  happen? 

N.  Well,  auntie,  that  was  another  accident.     You  see, 

I  needed  some  more  silk  skeins.  I  have  enough  red 
and  pink  silk,  but  I  need  orange.  The  stranger 
wore  a  scarf  of  deep  orange  and  I  wanted  a  skein 
of  that  color,  and  it  must  be  exactly  that  color,  for 
no  other  will  do.  So  I  went  to  call  the  nurse  to 
send  her  to  the  merchant,  but  she  had  to  see  the 
scarf.  I  called  the  nurse  and  couldn't  find  her; 
and  then  I  went  out  into  the  courtyard,  thinking 
that  I  would  find  the  girl  over  there  in  the  kitchen. 
I  was  a  little  afraid  that  the  stranger  would  cross 
the  yard  and  so  I  waited  a  little  and  watched  the 
door.  Well,  I  don't  say  exactly  that  I  was  afraid 
of  meeting  the  stranger  but  I  tried  to  avoid  him; 
but  just  when  I  crossed  the  courtyard  the  door 
opened  and  he  saw  me.  That  is  why  I  wanted  to 
ask  you  if  it  is  wrong  to  look  at  a  man.  I  was  in 
an  awful  position.  You  can't  realize,  auntie,  how 
awful  it  was. 

L.  C.      You  poor  child,  you  should  not  have  ventured  into 
the  yard. 

N.  Now  3'OU  see ;  he  looked  at  me  and  stood  still  only 

for  a  moment,  gazing  at  me  as  if  in  a  dream,  then 
he  bowed  low  and  passed  out  of  the  gate. 

L.  C.      I  hope  you  didn't  look  at  him? 

N.  Oh,  no,  I  only  took  a  quick  peep  at  him,  but  he 

looked  at  me. 

L.  C.      You  should   not  have  raised  your  eyes  even  for  a 
second. 


K'uNG  Fu  TzE  27 

N.  How  could   I  help  it?     He  was  so  courteous  and 

so  respectful, — and  he  was  so  manly!  You  should 
have  seen  him.  I  had  scarcely  time  to  note  the  color 
of  his  scarf.  That  scarf  was  fine,  and  only  for  the 
sake  of  the  scarf  I  should  like  to  know  who  he  was. 

L.  C.  M.\  dear  child,  I  must  reprove  you  for  your  be- 
havior ;  and  I  expect  of  you  most  decidedly  that  such 
scenes  shall  not  occur  again. 

N.  But,  auntie,  it  was  all  an  accident.  I  couldn't  help  it. 

L.  C.  My  dear,  that  is  all  very  well,  but  I  have  the  im- 
pression that  you  stand  in  need  of  advice.  You  are 
no  longer  a  child.  The  time  has  come  when  you 
must  be  watchful  and  guarded  in  your  conduct.  Let 
virtue  and  honor  be  always  your  first  consideration. 
Avoid  even  the  mere  semblance  of  impropriety. 
Even  the  thought  of  a  man  must  never  rise  in  your 
mind.  You  have  made  a  series  of  mistakes.  First, 
you  should  not  have  looked  up  from  your  embroid- 
ery ;  second,  you  should  not  have  looked  out  of  the 
window;  third,  if  a  man  entered  the  gate  you  should 
not  have  beheld  him  at  all.  Then  you  should  not 
have  thought  of  him  as  being  a  man.  Oh,  and  how 
dreadful  it  was  to  go  out  where  you  could  meet  him! 

N.  But,  auntie,  he  didn't  look  dangerous.     I  am  sure 

he  is  a  gentleman  and  he  looked  like  a  prince.  He 
must  have  been  a  nobleman.  His  dress,  his  gait,  his 
carriage  were  distinguished  and  he  was  as  beautiful 
as  a  young  god.  I  loved  the  very  sight  of  him.  Oh, 
auntie,  I  wish  you  had  seen  him,  you  would  have 
liked  him,  too.  I'm  sure  there  is  no  one  in  all  the 
Middle  Kingdom  so  manly  and  so  lordlike  as  this 
mysterious  stranger. 

L.  C.  Child,  my  wayward  child!  What  is  the  matter 
with  you  ?  You  speak  as  if  you  were  in  love.  Calm 
yourself.     You  are  infatuated  with  a  vision. 


28  K'uxG  Fu  TzE 

N.  In  love?     Is  that  possible? 

L.  C.  Forget  the  stranger  and  learn  the  rules  of  modesty 
and  propriety.  A  young  girl  like  you  must  not  allow 
her  heart  to  be  carried  away.  You  are  young  and 
inexperienced,  and  do  not  know  the  dangers  of  the 
world. 

A^.  Teach  me,  auntie,  I  will  be  glad  to  learn. 

L.  C.  Look  here,  my  good  niece,  this  is  the  picture  of  your 
grandmother.  She  was  Lady  K'ung,  the  mother 
of  your  uncle  K'ung  Fu  Tze,  and  she  indeed  was 
worthy  to  become  the  mother  of  a  great  sage. 
Grandfather  K'ung  was  a  mighty  man  and  a  general 
of  renown.  He  had  been  married  to  a  lady  who 
bore  him  nine  daughters  and  no  son.  How  he 
longed  for  an  heir  who  could  perform  the  proper 
ritual  sacrifices  at  his  tomb!  So  he  went  to  his 
friend,  the  honorable  Yen,  a  man  of  distinction,  and 
asked  him  for  one  of  his  daughters  in  marriage. 
The  Honorable  Mr.  Yen  addressed  his  three  daugh- 
ters and  said :  "Is  there  one  of  you  who  will  marry 
General  K'ung?  He  has  been  a  courageous  soldier 
and  stood  the  brunt  of  many  a  fight  in  the  service  of 
the  Duke  of  Lu.  In  his  best  years  he  was  strong 
and  tall.  He  still  stands  over  ten  shoes  in  height, 
but  he  has  grown  old  and  counts  now  eighty  years." 
Mr.  Yen  then  asked  his  oldest  daughter,  "Would 
you  take  him  for  a  husband?"  but  she  cherished  in 
her  heart  the  image  of  another  man  who  was  fair 
to  look  upon,  and  said:  "I  feel  myself  honored  by 
General  K'ung's  proposal  but  I  prefer  to  have  my 
own  choice."  The  second  daughter  answered :  "If 
I  marry  General  K'ung  I  shall  have  to  be  a  nurse 
all  my  wedded  life.  Instead  of  having  a  husband 
I  should  have  a  patient  on  my  hands.  Pray  let  the 
general  take  some  one  else  for  wife,  some  one  who 
would  like  to  become  a  young  widow."     When  Mr. 


K'uNG  Fu  TzE  29 

Yen  turned  to  his  youngest  daughter,  she  replied, 
"Father,  do  with  me  as  thou  thinkest  best.  I  will 
be  thy  obedient  child."  And  the  father  rejoiced, 
saying:  "Thou  art  a  fit  bride  for  the  general. 
Mayst  thou  bear  him  a  son  worthy  of  the  noble 
K'ung  family."  Her  son  is  K'ung  Tze!  A  woman 
must  be  humble  and  submissive,  and  especially  before 
her  marriage  she  should  be  demure  and  modest. 

N.  That  is  very  good.    And  really  I  will  be  modest  and 

humble;  I  admire  all  the  virtues,  but  I  care  little 
for  obedience.  I  will  be  obedient  and  marry  any- 
body whom  you  or  uncle  wish,  provided  it  is  the 
man  I  love,  and  I  want  to  look  up  to  my  husband 
as  my  lord.  But  he  must  be  lordlike  and  of  course 
[in  a  peevish  tone]  he  must  treat  me  as  his  lady. 
You  do  not  mean  a  wife  to  be  the  slave  of  her  hus- 
band? If  the  rules  of  propriety  mean  complete  sub- 
mission to  some  old  shaky  invalid,  I  would  rather 
not  marry  at  all. 

L.  C.  What  do  you  say,  my  child?  You  speak  not  as  it 
behooves  the  granddaughter  of  the  noble  General 
K'ung.     I  must  reprimand  you  most  severely. 

N.  Oh,  dearest  aunt,  do  not  blame  me.     Consider  your 

self  and  the  sad  fate  of  all  women.  We  are  not 
allowed  to  be  ourselves.  We  have  no  choice.  Our 
lot  is  to  be  obedient.  First,  we  must  obey  our 
parents,  then  our  husbands.  We  have  no  rights 
ourselves,  and  happy  is  our  lot  if  our  husbands  are 
half-way  worthy  of  our  attention  and  accept  our 
services  with  kindly  recognition.  You  know,  auntie, 
what  I  wish?  I  want  a  husband  whom  I  love,  and 
he  must  love  me — or  I  would  not  care  for  him. 

L.  C.  You  wayward  child.  You  do  not  know  enough  of 
life,  and  you  dream  too  much.  I  fear  there  are 
sad  disappointments  in  store  for  you. 


30  K'uNG  Fu  TzE 

N.  Then  let  me  have  my  dreams  as  long  as  cruel  reality 

has  not  yet  destroyed  them. 
Enter  Confucius.     Lady  C.  kneels  doivn,  so  does 
his  NlECE^  the  latter  with  some  hesitation. 

L.  C.      My  husband  and  my  lord! 

C.  Rise,  my  good  wife. 

Rise  to  your  feet  and  hear  the  important  news! 

In  company  with  Lu,  Kung  and  Mang-I, 

The  son  of  the  late  Minister  of  State, 

I  go  to  visit  Lo,  the  ancient  city 

And  whilom  capital  of  our  great  country, 

The  venerable  center  of  our  culture, 

Where  lives  the  greatest  of  philosophers. 

The  noble,  venerable  Lao  Tan. 

And  there  I  shall  imbibe  at  its  first  source 

Hoary  traditions  of  our  history 

And  knowledge  of  the  great  men  of  the  past. 

All  shall  be  utilized  for  a  reform 

Of  this  decadent  nation,  and  the  future 

Will  be  as  bright  and  glorious  as  great  Yii 

And  Shao  and  Wu  Wang  could  ever  make  it. 

I  will  revive  the  virtue  of  the  ancients 

And  I  shall  be  the  leader  in  reform! 

My  star  is  rising,  nevermore  to  set. 

(Curtain.) 


% 


ACT  II. 

SCENE  I. 

The  Hall  of  Light  in  the  City  of  Lo,  in  the  year 
518.  The  imperial  throne-room  of  the  house  of 
Chow  decorated  in  a  gorgeous  old  Chinese  style. 
Behind  the  elevated  throne  a  picture  of  the  Duke 
of  Chow  with  his  infant  nephew.  Enter  Con- 
fucius with  his  disciples. 

M.  I.      This  is  a  place  which  I  have  longed  to  see. 
How  beautiful  it  is  and  full  of  relics, 
Of  sacred  symbols,  ancient  art  and  pictures. 

C.  It  is  the  Hall  of  Light,  the  venerable 

Old  throne-room  of  the  imperial  house  of  Chow. 

Here  is  a  lesson.     We  cannot  understand 

The  present  age  unless  we  know  the  past! 

The  last  one  of  the  house  of  Yin,  Chow  Sin, 

Is  known  as  tyrant  and  his  crimes  are  many. 

We  owe  our  father  love  and  reverence, 

We  owe  allegiance  to  our  sovereign,  but 

Such  rights  imply  great  duties,  and  if  duties 

Are  heedlessly  neglected,  heaven  will  punish 

The  trespassers!     So  Heaven  dealt  with  Yin. 

A  sovereign's,  as  a  father's,  rights  depend 

Upon  his  goodness;  if  he  lacks  true  goodness. 

He  surely  forfeits  his  authority. 

Si   Peh,  named  Ch'ang,  Chief  of  the  West,  Wen 

Wang, 
Had  suffered  much  abuse,  was  cast  in  prison 
By  Sin,  the  tyrant,  and  in  tribulation 
Found  comfort  only  in  the  Book  of  Yih, 


32  K'uNG  Fu  TzE 

The  sacred  permutations  which  divined 

For  him  a  glorious  triumph  of  his  cause, 

And  truly,  he  regained  his  liberty. 

Then  after  him  his  valiant  son  Wu  Wang 

With  the  assistance  of  some  other  princes 

O'erthrew  the  debauched  tyrant  in  pitched  battle. 

And  thereupon  the  tyrant  lost  his  realm, 

Wu  Wang  ascended  the  imperial  throne 

As  founder  of  the  dynasty  of  Chow. 

See  here  above  the  royal  seat  portrayed 

The  Duke  of  Chow,  a  brother  of  Wu  Wang, 

Holding  aloft  the  infant  emperor, 

Named  Ch'ang,  the  heir  apparent  to  the  realm. 

Wu  Wang  had  died  and  left  a  minor  son. 

Ward  of  his  faithful  brother,  Duke  of  Chow. 

The  Duke  might  easily  have  set  himself 

Upon  his  much  lamented  brother's  throne. 

But  he  would  not  deprive  his  orphaned  nephew 

Of  his  inheritance.     He  kept  the  trust, 

And  here  you  see  this  noble,  honest  man ! 

The  vassals  of  the  empire  swear  allegiance 

To  their  child  emperor  whose  rights  he  shielded. 

See  here  the  secret  basis  of  Chow's  greatness! 

Justice  alone  can  make  an  empire  strong; 

Where  justice  lacks,  decay  is  not  far  off. 

M.  /.      Sir,  wonderful  is  this,  and  history 

Is  full  of  lessons!     You  expound  them  well. 
And  from  the  past  we  learn  the  principles 
By  which  the  future  should  be  guided. 

C.  Friends, 

Our  culture  is  much  older  than  the  Yin. 
Here  are  the  first  five  rulers  of  our  realm: 
Here  is  Fu  Hi,  the  oldest  of  them  all, 
Who  lived  more  than  two  thousand  years  ago 
In  ages  of  remote  antiquity. 
Here  are  his  diagrams,  eight  combinations 
Of  whole  and  broken  lines,  of  Yang  and  Yin, 


K'uNG  Fu  TzE  33 

Of  positive  and  negative,  developed 

From  the  primordial  unit,  T'ai  Chih, 

The   absolute   containing   in   itself 

Duality.     Here  is  Fu  Hi's  successor, 

Shen  Nung  She,  inventor  of  the  plow. 

Hwang  Ti,  the  jellow  emperor,  gave  us 

The  calendar  and  built  the  first  great  temple 

Wherein  to  worship  God,  the  Lord  on  High. 

He  was  a  master  in  philosophy, 

Extending  the  eight  trigrams  of  Fu  Hi 

Into  the  four  and  sixty  hexagrams. 

His  wife.  Si  Ling,  taught  us  to  rear  the  silkworm. 

Yao  the  great  and  Shun  laid  the  foundation 

Of  great  prosperity;  they  regulated 

The  river  courses,  thus  preventing  floods, 

And  it  was  Yii  the  Great  who  built  the  dykes. 

Shao  did  not  appoint  his  son  successor, 

He  did  not  deem  him  worthy  of  the  honor ; 

He  chose  the  humble  Shun  of  lowly  birth, 

Distinguished  by  his  filial  piety. 

And  filial  piety  is  bottom  rock. 

The  bottom  rock  on  which  we  build  our  culture 

Whose  application  lies  in  five  relations. 

And  five  ideals  stand  out  paramount: 

Humaneness,   uprightness,   propriety. 

Enlightenment,  and,  last  not  least,  good  faith. 

Here  we  have  seen  the  treasures  of  the  past. 

But  higher  still  than  art  and  precious  relics 

We  deem  the  learning  of  the  sage,  for  he 

Can  teach  us  wisdom,  truth  and  also  virtue. 

The  greatest  mind  that  now  our  country  holds 

Is  Lao  Tan,  the  old  philosopher; 

And  you  and  I  shall  see  him  face  to  face. 

SCENE  II. 

The  Archives  of  Chow  in  the  city  Lo.  Lao  Tax 
(L.  T.J,  a  man  of  advanced  years  ivith  a  fi owing 
white  beard,  is  seated  at  a  table  with  a  lute  before 
him. 


34  K'uNG  Fu  TzE 

L.  T.  The  reason  that  can  be  reasoned  is  not  the  eternal 
reason.  The  word  that  can  be  spoken  is  not  the 
eternal  word.  The  reason  that  can  be  reasoned  is 
man's  reason.  Man's  reason  is  vain  and  subject  to 
error.  I  long  for  the  eternal  reason,  the  reason  of 
Heaven.  Heaven's  reason  is  unnamable.  It  is  the 
mother  of  the  world,  the  mother  of  the  ten  thousand 
things.  We  call  it  Tao.  Man's  reason  is  but  a 
faint  echo  of  the  Tao.  Man  imagines,  however,  that 
his  human  and  all  too  human  reason  is  unfailing. 
The  genuine  human  reason  and  the  heavenly  reason 
are  truly  one  and  the  same.  I  long  for  the  eternal 
reason,  the  Tao.  She  is  my  mother,  I  am  her  child. 
But  to  be  the  son  of  the  eternal  reason,  I  must  have 
no  reason  of  my  own ;  no  reason  in  contradiction  to 
the  Tao,  the  heavenly  reason.  I  must  empty  my 
heart  of  desire. 

He  begins  to  play  the  lute  and  sings  in  a  melo- 
dramatic strain  : 

He  who  desireless  is  found 

The  spiritual  of  the  world  will  sound; 

But  he  who  by  desire  is  bound 

Sees  the  mere  shell  of  things  around. 

Boy  enters  and  makes  a  boiv.  He  luaits  re- 
spectfully until  Lao  Tan  stops  playing,  then 
boics  again.     Lao  Tan  looks  up  expectantly. 

Boy.  K'ung  Chin  of  the  State  of  Lu,  attended  by  Tze  Lu, 
Tze  Kung  and  Mang-I,  the  son  of  His  Excellence 
Mang  Hsi,  late  Minister  of  Lu,  are  here  to  pay  you 
their  respects. 

L.  T.  Who  is  K'ung  Chin  ?  Is  it  K'ung  Tze,  the  modern 
sage  of  Lii,  who  would  fain  reform  the  whole  world 
by  reviving  the  past?  [Boy  hands  him  a  slip  of 
paper  bearing  the  name  of  K'ung  Fu  Tze.  Lao 
Tan   reads   it]     Indeed,   that   is   the   man.     It   is 


K'uNG  Fu  TzE  35 

K'ung  Tze  with  some  of  his  disciples.  Let  him 
enter. 

Boy  boiL's  and  goes  out. 

L.  T.  [Speaking  to  himself]  He  is  gaining  fame  and 
people  praise  him;  yet  it  seems  to  me  that  he  clings 
to  externalities.  [Lets  his  fingers  run  over  his  lute 
again]  He  preaches  virtue;  he  proclaims  justice; 
he  insists  on  ceremonial,  the  ceremonial  of  the  past, 
the  old  dead  past.  The  great  reason,  the  ineffable, 
inexpressible  reason  is  not  so  complicated.  Does 
K'ung  know  its  simplicity?  I  fear  he  is  far  from 
it.     What  we  need  is  singleness  of  heart. 

Accompanying  himself  on  the  lute,  Lao  Tan  sings 
again : 

The  simplicity  of  the  unexpressed 

Will  purify  the  heart  of  lust. 

Where  there's  no  lust,  there  will  be  rest. 

And  all  the  world  will  thus  be  blest. 

The  great  Tao,  the  eternal  reason,  is  as  if  non- 
existent. It  is  as  empty  as  the  expanse  of  heaven 
but  its  use  is  inexhaustible. 

Confucius  and  his  disciples  enter  with  conspic- 
uous dignity. 

C.  Blest  be  our  entrance  here  where  holy  scrolls 

Greet    us    from    all    the    shelves.     These    curious 

writings 
Come  from  the  hands  of  our  ancestral  sages. 
The  hoary  past  is  speaking  unto  us 
Here  in  these  archives  of  old  emperors. 
Yea,  enviable  is  thy  fate,  great  Lao  Tan, 
Curator  of  the  holy  scriptures  here! 
Lao  Tan  has  risen  and  the  two  sages  bow  repeat- 
edly. 

L.  T.      U  I  can  help  thee,  worthy  guest,  command  me. 


36  K'uNG  Fu  TzE 

C.  O  noble  Lao  Tan,  thj'  wisdom  is 

Well  known  through  all  the  empire.     Kindly,  sir, 
Let  us  reap  benefits  from  thy  great  knowledge. 
Most  w^ondrous  the  resources  thou  hast  here 
In  these  famed  archives  of  the  House  of  Chow, 
Which  since  the  day  of  Wu  has  ruled  the  country. 
There  may  be  documents  in  thy  possession 
That  date  as  far  back  as  the  house  of  Yin; 
Yea,  traces  may  be  here  among  thy  treasures 
Of  the  primordial  founders  of  our  land, 
Of  the  five  ancient  rulers;  of  Fu  Hi, 
Inventor  of  our  script;  of  Sheng  Nung  She, 
The  godly  husbandman  who  taught  the  people 
To  fashion  plows  from  wood ;  further  Hwang  Ti 
The  yellow  emperor,  or  one  of  his 
Six  ministers ;  perhaps  some  other  sages 
Have  left  some  record  of  our  ancient  rites. 

L.  T.      The  men  of  whom  you  speak,  sir,  all  are  dead. 

And  now  are  mouldering  in   their  graves.     Their 

words 
Alone  are  extant  still.     'Tis  of  no  use 
To  see  the  places  where  they  lived,  to  handle 
The  manuscripts  they  wrote  with  their  own  hands 
Simply  for  us  to  make  a  show  of  learning. 

C.  Allow  me  to  insist  that  all  the  rulers 

Should  make  a  show  of  their  authority, 
And  their  authority  is  based  upon 
The  wisdom  of  tradition,  of  the  past. 
The  people  ought  to  see  that  they  are  governed. 

L.  T.      No,  sir.     I  differ  from  you  on  this  point. 
The  people  scarcely  knew  of  the  existence 
Of  our  great  rulers.     Lesser  ones  they  liked 
And  praised.     Still  lesser  ones  they  feared,  and  then 
The  least,  the  meanest,  smallest  they  despised. 

C.  No,  sir,  oh  no! 


K'uNG  Fu  TzE  37 

L.  T.  Yes,  sir,  they  still  despise  them. 

C.  Rulers  must  seek  advice  from  noble  sages, 

Must  recognize  their  worth.     Should  not  the  sage 
Stand  high  exalted?     He  should  be  distinguished, 
And    monarchs    should    surround    themselves    with 
sages. 

L.  T.      The  sage  should  imitate  the  eternal  reason. 

The  great  Tao  which  makes  all  things  arise. 
What  would  you  do  if  you  were  called  to  rule? 

C.  I  would  establish  righteousness  and  justice, 

Would  make  the  ruler  truly  be  a  ruler, 
The  subject  be  a  subject,  would  reform 
The  empire,  would  convert  the  world  to  virtue, 
And  I  would  do,  in  short,  what  should  be  done. 

L.  T.       [After  a  short  pause,  ironically] 

You  would,  indeed,  make  much  ado.     You  would 
Make  a  great  show  of  virtue  and  assert 
Your  principle. 

C.  Sir,  what  else  should  I  do? 

L.  T.      AVhat  should  you  do,  you  ask?     Do  no  ado! 
Do  not  assert  yourself.     Does  heaven  e'er 
Assert  itself?     But  heaven  for  aye  endures; 
Your  person  put  behind,  for  only  thus 
Cometh  j'our  person  to  the  fore.     The  sage 
Will  never  boast  of  his  own  worth.     He  quickens 
But  does  not  own ;  he  works  but  does  not  claim ; 
Merit  he  gains,  but  does  not  dwell  on  it. 

C.  The  sage  should  set  the  people  an  example 

Of  justice,  of  benevolence,  and  virtue. 

L.  T.      Of  virtue?     Sir,  it  seems  you  mean  the  sage 
To  make  a  show  of  virtue;  'twere  but  sham. 
True  virtue  knoweth  naught  of  show  or  sham. 
True  virtue  is  unvirtue,  not  ado. 
If  goodness  makes  a  show  of  goodness,  sir, 
It  is  sheer  badness  and  hypocrisy. 


38  K'uNG  Fu  TzE 

Further,  if  beauty  makes  display  of  beauty, 

It  is  sheer  ugliness,  to  be  despised. 

When  people  lose  the  Tao,  virtue  comes ; 

Then  they  begin  to  talk  and  preach  of  virtue. 

If  they  lose  virtue,  then  benevolence 

Comes  in  its  place.     They  lose  benevolence 

And  justice  comes.     When  they  lose  justice,  too, 

They  preach  propriety.     Propriety 

Is  but  a  semblance  of  true  loyalty. 

Of  goodness,  virtue,  faith.     This  hankering 

After  traditions  old,  this  reverence 

Of  virtue,  justice  and  benevolence 

Is  a  mere  empty  show  which  but  conceals 

The  lack  of  reason  and  of  genuine  virtue. 

It  is  the  flower  of  reason,  not  its  fruit. 

C.  You  undervalue  what  the  sage  can  do  J 

If  he  but  finds  the  place  which  he  deserves. 

L.  T.      A  noble  man  who  finds  his  time,  will  rise ; 
But  if  he  does  not  find  his  time,  he  drifts. 
And  like  a  roving  plant  he'll  have  to  wander. 
Let  go,  sir,  your  ambitious  affectation, 
Your  haughty  airs.     All  this  is  of  no  use. 

C.  Sir,  you  are  frank! 

L.  T.  Truthful  you'd  have  me  be. 

True  words,  sir,  are  not  pleasant;  pleasant  words 
Are  scarcely  true. 

C.  You  are  discouraging. 

L.  T.      Do  I  discourage  when  I  would  correct? 
I'd  but  discourage  him  who  seeketh  self; 
Not  him  who  seeketh  Tao  and  would  find  it. 
I  seek  the  Tao,  and  the  Tao,  sir. 
Serves  me  as  guide.     It  is  the  middle  path 
Between  extremes  and  leads  us  to  the  goal. 
The  Tao  teaches  virtue,  teaches  goodness. 
And  all  we  need  is  goodness. 


.  K'uNG  Fu  TzE  39 

C.  Goodness  only? 

L.  T.      Meet  all  with  goodness ;  meet  the  good  with  goodness 
And  likewise,  too,  meet  evil  ones  with  goodness. 

C.  My  principle  is  justice.     Do  not  to  others 

What  thou  wouldst  not  have  done  to  thee.     Indeed 

The  good  ones  we  should  meet  with  goodness,  truly! 

But  bad  ones  I  would  meet  as  they  deserve. 

For  why  should  we  the  bad  ones  also  treat 

With  goodness,  say?     The  words  which  thou  hast 

spoken, 
Are  hard  to  understand. 

(As  if  speaking  to  himself:) 

Oh,  I  had  hoped 
To  learn  from  thee  of  ancient  rituals, 
Of  ceremonials  and  propriety! 

L.  T.      For  all  of  which  I  care  so  little,  sir! 

So  let  that  go.     I  have  no  more  to  say. 

C.  Then  we  will  part,  and  I  for  one  regret 

That  from  thy  wisdom  I  could  learn  no  more. 

Both  rise  and  boiv,  and  Lao  Tan  accompanies 
Confucius  to  the  door.  Exit  Confucius,  ac- 
companied    by    Mang-I,    Tze    Lu    and    TzE 

KUNG. 

L.  T.      So  that  was  K'ung  Fu  Tze,  the  great  reformer? 
Is  he  the  herald  of  a  sterile  future? 
Will  he  build  up  our  nation?     Woe  to  us! 
Or  am  I  so  mistaken  in  the  truth  ? 
There  is  a  gulf  'twixt  us  cannot  be  bridged. 
Would  he  might  find  the  Tao,  but  its  light 
Shineth  in  vain ;  he  comprehends  it  not. 

(He  begins  to  muse.) 

How  few  there  are  who  understand  the  Tao! 

We  look  at  it  and  yet  we  see  it  not; 

We  listen  for  its  voice  but  hear  no  sound ; 

We  grope  for  it  but  cannot  touch  its  form ; 


40  K'uNG  Fu  TzE 

Yet  it  exists,  it  moulds  this  whole  grand  world. 

It  is  a  being  wondrous  and  complete ; 

Ere  heaven  and  earth,  IT  was.     How  calm  it  is! 

Alone  it  standeth  and  it  suffereth  not, 

Therefore  it  is  the  mother  of  the  world. 

I  do  not  know  its  name — I  call  it  Tao. 

K'ung  meaneth  well,  but  will  with  failure  meet; 

He  cannot  find  his  time  and  he  will  drift 

From  place  to  place  in  idle  quest.     And  I  ? 

And  I?     I  am  forlorn,  Oh,  so  forlorn! 

I  am  a  stranger  here;  I  long  for  home. 

My  da^s  arc  numbered  and  I  will  depart. 

Yes,  Yes!     Abroad  in  life  and  home  in  death! 

SCENE  III. 

A  Street  in  Lo,  the  capital  of  Chow.  Enter  a 
juitive  of  Lo  (Lo).  CoxFUClus  passes  by.  He 
appears  disconcerted  and  agitated  as  if  he  had 
lost  his  ivay.  Exit  CoNFUClUS.  Native  of  Lo 
looks  back  after  CoNFUClus,  shakes  his  head  and 
expresses  astonishment. 

Lo.  A  remarkable  man!  I  wonder  who  he  is?  A 
striking  figure! 

Enter  Mang-I,  Tze  Lu  and  TzE  KuNG. 

Lu.  Sir,  have  you  seen  a  stranger  here? 

Lo.         Yes,  sir,  I  have. 

Lu.         Perhaps  it  was  the  Master,  K'ung  Fu  Tze. 
Did  he  appear  to  you  extraordinary? 

Lo.  Indeed  he  did,  sir.  The  man  I  saw  had  a  forehead 
like  Yao,  the  wise  emperor;  a  neck  like  Kao  Yao, 
the  great  minister  of  Shun ;  shoulders  much  like 
Ts'ze-Ch'an,  who  governed  Cheng  so  well  in  times 
of  great  disorder!  He  wanted  a  little  below  the 
waist  of  the  height  of  Yii  the  Great,  the  builder  of 
our  dykes.  Indeed,  an  extraordinary  man,  but  his 
general  demeanor  was  that  of  a  stray  dog. 


K'uNG  Fu  TzE  41 

Lu.         That  is  our  Master;  we  have  found  him. 
Kung.     Whither  did  he  go? 

Lo.         There  he  comes  now. 
Enter  CoNFUClUS 
Kung.     O  Master,  venerable  Master!  At  last  we  found  you. 
M.  I.      We  were  much  worried  and  have  searched  for  you. 

C.  O  friends,  I'm  disconcerted,  and  I  feel 

Defeated  and  dejected  since  I  met 
The  ancient  sage,  the  famous  Lao  Tan. 

M.  I.      You  have  no  reason  to  be  thus  downcast. 
With  all  due  reverence  for  Lao  Tan 
I  think  that  he  but  failed  to  understand ; 
May  be  that  he  at  bottom  means  the  same. 

C.  I  know  the  birds  can  fly,  and  fishes  swim ; 

I  know  wild  beasts  can  run.     But  man  devises 
Snares  for  the  runner,  nets  to  catch  the  swimmer 
And  with  his  arrows  brings  the  flyers  down. 
I  know  it,  but  the  dragon  I  know  not. 
The  dragon  is  miraculous  and  grand ; 
The  dragon  can   bestride   the  wind  and  clouds 
When  rising  heavenward.     I  know  him  not. 
This  Lao  Tan,  methinks,  is  like  the  dragon, 

M.  I.      Be  not  discomfitted,  my  dear,  good  Master, 

E'en  though  your  views  do  not  agree  with  Tan's 
You  have  an  aim,  a  noble  aim.     You  will 
Accomplish  something  in  this  world.     And  I 
Will  stand  by  you. 

Kung.  Pursue  your  aim,  dear  Master, 

We  will  stand  by  you,  and  we  shall  not  flinch. 

M.  I.      We  will  be  faithful  to  the  very  end. 

C.  I  thank  you  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart. 

You  both  are  faithful,  and  you  both  are  manly. 
Since  you've  been  with  me,  Kung,  I  have  no  longer 
Seen  sneers  in  faces  of  unfriendly  people 


42  K'uNG  Fu  TzE 

Who  would  not  countenance  my  thought.     But  here 
Against  the  great  philosopher  Lao  Tan 
You  are  of  no  avail.     Mang-I,  you,  too, 
Have  proved  a  help,  but  all  your  influence 
Will  not  win  the  support  of  this  lone  thinker 
For  our  great,  noble  cause, 

M.  I.  My  dear  good  Master, 

I  have  such  faith  in  you  I  cannot  see 
How  you  can  feel  so  grievously  dejected 
Merely  because  one  dreamy  simpleton 
As  old  as  he  is  singular  and  hazy 
And  odd,  differs  from  you.     Leave  him  alone. 
If  he  or  any  one  of  his  admirers 
Would  venture  to  oppose  us,  let  them  do  so. 
We  need  opponents  and  we'll  meet  them  squarely. 
Your  mission  'tis  to  rear  the  eternal  pillars 
Of  the  good  doctrine,  of  propriety. 
The  golden  rule,  the  five  relationships. 

C.  I  thank  j^ou,  my  good  friends,  most  cordially, 

Kung.     Not  for  ourselves  alone,  we  speak  for  all 
Your  followers  and  for  your  true  disciples. 

M.  I.      We  will  convert  the  world  to  you.     And,  Master, 
[fVitfi  some  hesitation^      I  wish  to  be  allied  to  you 

and  to 
Your  family.     Kindly  allow  me,  sir. 
To  send  to  you  as  soon  as  we  reach  home, 
A  go-between  who  would  arrange  my  marriage 
To  your  fair  niece, 

C.  My  niece? 

AI.  I.  Yea,  to  your  niece. 

C.  My  niece  to  me  is  like  unto  a  daughter, 

And  no  one,  friend  Mang-I,  would  be  more  welcome 
As  son-in-law  than  you.     Your  cheering  word. 
Most  noble  sir,  shall  be  a  prophecy 
Of  the  great  future  which  before  me  lies. 


ACT   III. 

SCENE  I. 

Home  of  Confucius,  in  the  year  517  B.  C.  Niece 
of  Confucius  is  seen  in  festive  bridal  attire,  at- 
tended by  maids. 

N,  The  day  is  come,  and  here  I  wait  for  him : 

And  oh,  to  look  upon  him — to  behold 
His  manly  figure  and  his  kindly  face. 
Hand  me  my  lute  and  I  will  sing  the  song 
My  uncle  taught  me,  the  old  bridal  song 
That  has  come  down  to  us  from  hoary  ages 
And  which  exactly  fits  my  present  mood. 

J  maid  hands  her  a  lute.   She  plays  and  sings : 

At  the  gate  awaits  me  now, 

Screened  from  sight,  hi-ho ! 
One  with  tassels  o'er  his  brow 

All  of  white,  hi-ho! 
Gems  beam  bright! 
What  a  sight!     Hi-ho! 

Through  the  courtyard  now  he  goes 

Past  the  screen.     Hi-ho! 
Jewels  which  his  headgear  shows 

Are  of  green,  hi-ho! 
Such  a  sheen 
Is  rarely  seen.     Hi-ho! 

He  approaches  now  the  hall, 
I  am  told ;  Hi-ho! 


44  •       K'uNG  Fu  TzE 

'Tis  my  bridegroom,  among  all 

Fair  to  b'hold.     Hi-ho! 
Decked  with  gold, 
Fair  to  behold.     Hi-ho!* 

Enter  CoNFUCIUS  and  his  wife. 

C.  My  dearest  niece,  no  fault  has  yet  been  made. 

The  go-between  has  come  and  we've  transacted 
All  details  as  prescribed  by  ancient  custom. 
Your  names  and  ages  have  been  stated ;  presents 
Have  been  exchanged  and  our  consent  is  given  ; 
The  day  of  marriage  has  been  duly  fixed. 
And  we  await  thy  bridegroom,  now  to  take  thee 
Home  to  his  parents'  house,  yea,  to  their  palace. 
For  they  are  wealthy  and  of  royal  blood. 
Thy  mother-in-law  expects  thee,  with  desire 
To  have  thee  with  her,  for  she  loves  thee  dearly. 
The  bride  of  her  beloved  and  favorite  son. 

Maid.     The  groom  is  coming ;  the  procession  neareth ; 
Mang-I  is  gorgeous  as  Kwang  Ti  himself, 
Surrounded  by  his  relatives  and  friends. 

C.  [To  the  servant]      Show  the  musicians  in,  and  call 

the  maids. 

Enter  musicians  and  a  group  of  girls.  The  former 
with  their  instruments  take  seats  on  the  right; 
the  latter  surround  the  bride.  The  table  with 
the  lute  is  removed  and  a  palanquin  is  brought. 

C.  Is  the  trousseau  in  readiness? 

L.  C.  It  is. 

Here  are  the  boxes  packed  with  proper  care. 

[Turning  to  her  niece] 
Oh,  my  dear  niece,  how  happy  is  your  lot, 

*  This  song  is  a  translation  of  "The  Bride's  Ditty"  in  the  Shi 
King  (I,  VIII,  3),  the  poetical  classic,  collected  and  edited  by 
Confucius. 


K'uNG  Fu  TzE  45 

That  just  the  man  to  whom  your  heart  went  out 
Asked  you  in  marriage.     This  is  rare,  my  child. 

The  door  opens.  Enter  Mang-I,  followed  by  a 
procession.  The  music  plays.  Mang-I  boivs 
to  Confucius^  his  ivife  and  the  bride. 

C.  [To  Mang-I] 

My  friend,  this  is  a  day  of  purest  joy. 

Thou  wilt  the  husband  be  of  this  my  niece, 

A  maiden  pure  and  undefiled,  a  treasure 

In  education  and  accomplishments 

As  well  as  noble  in  descent.     She  will 

Obedient  and  submissive  prove  to  thee 

As  it  behooves  a  wife;  and  thou,  my  friend, 

Wilt  prove  her  lord,  her  husband,  her  protector. 

This  day  is  most  auspicious.     'Tis  to  be 

The  luckiest  of  the  lucky  days  of  life. 

With  this  my  wish,  friend  Mang-I,  take  her  home. 

Be  happy  with  her ;  do  thou  make  her  happy  ; 

Be  happy  both,  according  to  your  love. 

The  music  begins;  the  groomsmen  and  bridestnaids 
lead  the  bridegroom  to  the  bride,  u'hojn  he  con- 
ducts with  ceremonious  courtesy  to  the  palanquin. 
All  the  attendants  join  in  singing  the  ditty  on 
"The  Locusts"*  from  the  Shi  King  I,  I,  5-  Our 
translation  is  by  William  Jennings. 

How  do  the  locusts  crowd — 

A  fluttering  throng! 
May  thy  descendants  be 

Thus  vast,  thus  strong! 

How  do  the  locusts'  wings 

In  motion  sound ! 
May  thy  descendants  show. 

Like  them,  no  bound ! 

*  The  locust  is  an  emblem  of  prowess  in  China.     See  The  Open 
Court  for  January,  1913,  pp.  57-61. 


46  K'uNG  Fu  TzE 

How  do  the  locusts  all 

Together  cluster ! 
Ma\'  thy  descendants,  too, 

In  such  wise  muster! 

While  the  bride  is  carried  out  in  the  palanquin,  they 
sing  the  "Bridal  Song,"  from  the  Shi  King  I,  I,  6. 
Our  translation  is  by  William  Jennings. 

Ho,  graceful  little  peach-tree. 
Brightly  thy  blossoms  bloom! 

The  maid  goes  to  her  husband ; 
Adorns  his  hall,  his  room. 

Ho,  graceful  little  peach-tree, 

Thy  fruit  abundant  fall ! 

The  maid  goes  to  her  husband  ; 

Adorns  his  room,  his  hall. 

i 

Ho,  graceful  little  peach-tree. 

With  foliage  far  and  wide! 
The  maid  goes  to  her  husband ; 

His  household  well  to  guide. 

Exeunt  all  except  CoNFUCiUS  and  Lady  C. 

C.  A  happy  day  this  is  for  me.     The  marriage 

Of  Mang  to  our  good  niece  can  only  serve 
To  make  him  even  more  attached  to  me 
Than  ever;  and  I  prize  his  friendship  high. 
This  morning  only  have  I  summoned  been 
To  call  on  our  most  gracious  lord,  Duke  Ting, 
Who  seeks  my  service.     I  am  called  upon 
To  govern  first  a  district,  then  the  state. 
Here  is  my  chance;  I  shall  make  use  of  it. 

L.  C.      Our  lord  Duke  Ting  is  young  and  pleasure  loving; 
He  is  not  constant,  and  success  is  doubtful. 
I  do  not  trust  the  honor  beckoning  thee. 


K'uNG  Fu  TzE  47 

Wife,  have  no  doubt,  for  in  m}'  inmost  soul 

I  feel  that  Providence  selected  me 

To  carry  out  the  great  plan  of  reform. 

There  is  no  one  on  earth  except  myself 

Who  knows  the  needs  of  mankind,  who  can  teach 

The  rules  of  conduct,  who  can  regulate 

The  five  relations,  and  I  feel  convinced 

The  Lord  on  High  will  speed  me  with  success. 

When  I  was  young  I  was  in  office  twice. 

First  I  was  keeper  of  the  stores  of  grain. 

Then  I  had  charge  of  public  fields  and  land. 

Both  offices  were  humble,  certainly, 

But  I  was  faithful  in  these  smaller  duties. 

My  calculations  balanced  and  the  cattle 

Under  my  care  did  prosper.     Madam,  then 

Do  you  remember  when  our  son  was  born 

The  Duke  sent  me  a  present  of  two  carp — 

It  was  the  father  of  the  young  Duke  Ting — 

In  friendly  recognition  of  my  work. 

I  shall  be  just  as  faithful  now  in  this. 

My  new  position,  with  its  wider  range. 

It  is  the  cause  of  heaven  I  advocate. 

The  cause  of  heaven  cannot  be  doomed  to  failure. 


ACT  IV. 

SCENE  I. 

Twenty  Years  Later.  Court  of  the  State  Lu,  in 
497.  In  the  background  the  judgment  seat  ivith 
a  screeji  behind.  In  the  foreground  Yen  Hui 
(Yen) ,  TzE  Kung  and  Tze  Lu. 

Lu.         \To  Yen]     There  was  a  time  when  I  was  jealous, 
sir, 
Jealous  of  you  for  our  great  Master's  love. 
But  you  have  overcome  all  my  ill-feeling. 
For,  to  be  frank,  I  love  you  too. 

Kung.  And  you 

Are  worthy  to  be  cherished  by  us  all. 
You  are  so  thoughtful,  gentle,  lovable. 
The  Master  loves  you,  and  who  loves  you  not? 

Yen.       O,  do  not  praise  me,  I  do  not  deserve  it. 
I  love  the  Master  and  I  cannot  help  it. 
I  loved  him  as  a  child.     My  father  loved  him. 
My  father  being  one  of  his  disciples 
Looked  up  to  him  with  deepest  reverence. 
And  I  was  born  to  this  my  father's  spirit. 
In  deepest  reverence  for  the  Master,  K'ung. 
I  have  imbibed  it  with  my  mother's  milk 
And  was  brought  up  in  this  same  atmosphere. 
When  I  grew  older  and  began  to  think 
I  saw  good  reason  for  admiring  him. 
Who  is  the  safest  guide  for  all  the  world. 

Unnoticed  by  the  others,  K'uNG  Li  (Li),  the  son 
of  Confucius,  enters  and  listens. 


4 

1 


K'uNG  ¥v  TzE  49 

Lu.         And  you  are  right,  my  friend,  my  dear  Yen  Hui. 
The  Master  showed  for  me  consideration ; 
He  often  followed  my  advice,  and  I 
Was  near  to  him,  nearer  than  all  the  others; 
But  since  you  came  and  joined  our  company 
You  have  become  nearest  of  all,  and  he 
Looketh  to  3'ou  to  carry  on  his  work. 
'Tis  you  whom  he  regards  as  his  successor. 

Kiing.     He  loves  you  more  than  his  own  son,  and  I 
Gladly  confess  that  you  deserve  his  favor. 

Li.  [Aside^     'Tis  true,  my  father  loves  him  more  than 

me. 

Yen.       I  still  am  young  and  lack  experience; 

You  both  are  older  and  know  more  than  I. 

I've  much  to  learn,  and  how  can  I  be  fit 

To  be  allowed  to  carry  on  the  work 

Of  our  great  Master's  wisdom?    No,  dear  sir. 

I  feel  my  great  unworthiness  too  much 

To  stir  in  you  a  cause  for  jealousy. 

It  is  enough  for  me  if  I  can  serve  him; 

That  is  high  honor  and  great  privilege. 

Lu.  I  have  no  grudge,  Yen  Hui,  and  if  I  had 

1  would  suppress  it,  for  you  are  too  dear 
To  mine  own  heart. 

Li.  {Aside^  Why  waste   this  sympathy 

On  yonder  gosling? 

Kung.  And  now  especially 

Since  our  great  Master  has  been  called  to  office 
We  must  not  split  but  firmh'  stand  together. 

Yen.       I  am  so  glad  the  master  did  not  deign 

To  serve  the  state  when  called  on  by  Yang  Ho. 
Yang  Ho  was  a  usurper.     He  it  was 
Who  had  Duke  Chao  expelled,  and  then  deprived 
Him  of  his  throne,  and  caused  all  the  confusion 


50  K'uNG  Fu  TzE 

In  our  state  Lu.     He  wanted  but  the  name 

Of  K'ung  Fu  Tze, — K'ung's  fair  untarnished  name, 

To  shield  and  justify  his  unjust  rule. 

Exit  lA,  ivJiose  departure  is  observed  by  the  others. 

Kung.     Who  was  that? 

Lu.         Was't  not  the  Master's  son? 

Yen.       It  was  indeed  K'ung  Li. 

Lu.  He  seems  to  have 

No  tittle  of  his  father's  noble  spirit. 

Yen.       Oh,  he's  not  bad ;  he's  but  indifferent. 

He  does  not  know  the  worth  of  his  great  father. 

He  would  have  liked  the  Master  to  accept 

The  offer  of  Yang  Ho.     And  for  a  while 

K'ung  wavered,  for  he  deemed  it  possible 

To  change  the  man,  to  make  him  do  the  right. 

He  hoped  he  might  convert  the  unscrupulous 

By  acting  as  his  mentor  and  adviser. 

Once  slyly  said  Yang  Ho  to  K'ung  Fu  Tze: 

"Can  he  be  called  benevolent  who  leaves 

His  jewels  in  his  bosom  and  his  country 

In  worse  confusion?"     "No,"  our  Master  said. 

Yang  Ho  continued:     "And  you  w^ant  employment 

But  waste  your  opportunity.     Our  years 

Slip  quickly  and  the  months  pass  by — accept!" 

The  Master  then  replied:    "Your  words  seem  true, 

Perhaps  I  ought  to  enter  into  office." 

Kung.     The  Master  wavered ;  yea,  he  was  inclined 
To  accept  the  tempting  offer  of  Yang  Ho. 
But  I  prevented  it.     I  pointed  out 
The  vicious  character  of  Yang  and  that 
The  cause  of  a  usurper  should  not  be 
Encouraged  or  supported.     But  since  then 
The  righteous  heir,  Duke  Ting,  is  reinstated. 
And  happily  Duke  Ting  has  found  employment 
For  K'ung  Fu  Tze  in  this  our  state  of  Lu. 


K'uNG  Fu  TzE  51 

Yen.       When  K'ung  Fu  Tze  first  served  as  governor 
Of  the  small  district  at  Chung-Tu  of  Lu, 
What  great  reform  was  then  at  once  accomplished  I 
Things  dropped  in  streets  were  not  picked   up  or 

stolen  ; 
The  strong  did  not  make  evil  use  of  power, 
The    merchants    used    right   weight,    the    old    were 

honored 
And  womanhood  respected.     Above  all, 
All  funeral  observances  were  strictly 
And  piously  observed. 

Kung.  Yea,  that  was  good, 

But  better  still  was  the  establishment 
Of  our  young  duke's  authority.     The  barons 
Had  grown  too  powerful.    But  K'ung  Tze  broke 
Some  of  their  castles  where  they  bade  defiance 
And  humbled  them.     Thus  spread  our  Master's 

fame 
And  now  K'ung  Tze  commands  the  confidence 
Of  our  good  duke,  His  Royal  Highness  Ting, 
Holding  the  place  of  Minister  of  Justice. 
1  he  other  princes  now  begin  to  fear 
That  Lu,  our  little  country,  will  outshine 
In  glory  all  the  others.     Yea,  our  neighbor, 
The  Duke  of  Ch'i,  would  gladly  conquer  Lu. 

Yen.       He  won't  succeed. 

Lu.  He  may.     We  cannot  tell. 

Yen.       I  see  no  danger,  friend. 

Kung.  The  Duke  of  Ch'i 

Is  filled  with  hate  against  Duke  Ting  of  Lu. 

And  do  }  ou  still  remember  how  our  Master 

Defeated  Ch'i's  intrigues  at  Chia-Ku, 

The  meeting  place  of  the  two  sovereigns? 

1  he  Duke  of  Ch'i  would  have  imprisoned  Ting, 

Had  not  our  Master  with  his  innate  wisdom 


52  K'uNG  Fu  TzE 

Defended  justice  to  protect  our  cause. 

Since  then  Duke  Ting  has  confidence  in  K'ung. 

Kung.     The  danger  is  not  past,  for  our  Duke  Ting 
Is  like  the  rest. 

Yen.  What  do  you  mean,  friend  Kung? 

Kung.     Beauty  to  Ting  goes  always  before  duty* 

I  learn  the  Duke  of  Ch'i  will  send  a  present 
Of  thirty  spans  of  steeds — you  know  the  Duke 
Loves  racing  horses;  and  of  eighty  damsels. 
With  song  and  dance  they  will  so  entertain 
The  Duke  as  greatly  to  distract  his  soul 
And  make  him  hate  the  ver.\   name  of  virtue. 

M.  I.      The  Duke  has  heard  of  it,  but  is  determined 
Not  to  receive  the  present.     If  he  did 
Our  Master  could  not  stay.    Here  comes  K'ung  Tze. 

They  bow  loiv.     Enter  Confucius. 

C.  I  greet  you,  friends,  and  above  all  Yen  Hui, 

Thou  most  affectionate,  best  of  my  students. 
At  last  my  time  has  come :  at  last  I  have 
An  opportunity  to  prove  my  doctrine. 
His  Royal  Highness  Ting,  our  noble  ruler 
The  Duke  of  Lu,  lends  me  his  ear  and  listens 
To  the  advice  I  give. 

£;/,  We  know  it,  sir. 

The  fame  of  Lu  is  growing  since  Duke  Ting 
Has  made  thee  counselor  of  state. 

C.  I  see 

Great  vistas  open  now  and  I  shall  need 
Assistance.     Dear  Tze  Lu,  the  Duke  of  Wei 
Wants  an  adviser  and  he  needs  a  man 
Of  strength;  wilt  thou  be  able  to  keep  order? 

*  A  similar  saying  was  used  with  reference  to  the  Duke  of  Wei, 
who  drove  with  his  frivolous  queen,  the  intriguing  Xan-tze,  in  the 
first  carriage,  and  made  his  guest,  K'ung  I'ze,  follow  behind.  At 
the  .sight  of  this  spectacle  the  people  exclaimed  (in  Legge's  trans- 
lation) :     "Lust  in  front,  Virtue  behind." 


I 


I 


K'uNG  Fu  TzE  53 

Lu.         I  certainly  will  try  to  do  my  best. 

C.  Not  every  man  is  fit  to  do  the  same, 

And  different  tasks  require  quite  different  men. 
Thou  wilt  be  in  thy  proper  place,  Tze  Lu, 
So  go  to  Wei,  and  when  thou  exercisest 
Authority,  remember  that  what  thou 
Dislik'st  in  thy  superiors,  do  not 
Thyself  display  to  those  in  thy  command. 

Lu.  My  aim  shall  be  to  do  thee  credit.  Master. 

C.  I  wish  to  know  what  every  one  of  you 

Would  do  to  realize  his  highest  aim 
If  he  were  given  full  authority. 
Tze  Lu,  do  thou  speak  first. 

Lu.  My  honored  Master, 

I  would  induce  the  people  to  be  strong, 
Would  make  them  self-reliant,  energetic 
And  brave  to  stand  up  for  the  right. 

C.  And   thou, 

Tze  Kung,  what  are  the  methods  thou  wouldst  use? 

Kung.     With  your  permission,   I   would  guide  the  people, 
And  I  would  teach  them  the  right  way. 

C.  Yen  Hui, 

Wouldst  thou  approve  the  methods  of  thy  friends 
And  fellow  students?     Both  are  men  of  talent. 
Tze  Lu  is  full  of  courage,  and  Tze  Kung 
Persuasive  in  his  manner  as  a  teacher. 

Yen.       My  Master,  I  w^ould  like  to  find  a  sage 

Upon  the  throne,  whose  counselor  I'd  be ; 
And  I  w^ould  help  him  to  diffuse  instruction 
Among  the  people  on  the  five  relations 
And  on  the  lessons  they  imply.     I  would 
Teach  every  one  within  my  realm  the  rules 
Of  music  and  propriety,  would  spread 
The  love  of  harmony,  that  they  no  longer 


54  K'uNG  Fu  TzE  ; 

Would  care  to  have  their  cities  fortified 
By  wall  and  moat,  but  fuse  their  heavy  spears 
And  swords  into  the  tools  for  tilling  land. 
Their  flocks  would  graze  unharmed  without  protec- 
tion 
In  open  fields.     No  war  would  widow  wives 
And  orphan  children,  and  there'd  be  no  chance 
For  Lu  Tze  to  display  his  bravery 
Nor  for  Tze  Kung  to  be  an  orator. 

C.  Yen  Hui,  I  prize  thy  view  as  the  most  lofty. 

I  see  that  thou  hast  sounded  all  the  depths 
Of  wisdom ;  thou  art  fittest  to  become 
The  true  "Continuator"  of  my  doctrine. 
I  need  disciples,  men  of  different  tj'pe ; 
I  need  men  of  a  literary  taste 
And  diplomats,  and  men  of  strength  and  valor; 
I  need  instructors  and  philosophers, 
They  all  shall  be  enlisted  in  the  cause — 
Our  cherished  cause,  the  cause  of  all  mankind ; 
But  thou.  Yen  Hui,  art  nearest  to  my  heart; 
And  'tis  thy  love  which  comprehendeth  all, 
All  wisdom  and  all  courage  and  all  learning, 
All  oratory  and  diplomacy. 

Confucius  u-alks  toward  the  door,  his  disciples 
standing  on  either  side  bou'ing,  ivhen  Li,  his  son, 
comes  from  one  side  upon  the  stage  and  passing 
over  in  the  center  reaches  the  door  first. 
C.  Li,  son,  my  only  son,  how  does  it  happen 

That  thou  tak'st  precedence  before  thy  father? 
Hast  thou  not  read  the  books  of  Odes  wherein 

[Li  returns,  shakes  his  head  and  bows  with  a  con- 
trite expression.} 
Thou  canst  become  acquainted  with  the  spirit 
Of  ancient  sages,  emperors  and  nobles? 
They  were  distinguished  by  propriety 
And  strictly  courteous  behavior,  son. 
They  never  would  have  taken  precedence 


K'uNG  Fu  TzE  55 

Before  their  betters,  nor  before  their  parents. 
.  Remember,  son,  and  read  the  books  of  Odes. 

Li  steps  aside  and  allows  his  father  and  the  dis- 
ciples to  enter.     He  stays  behind. 
Li.  [Shaking  his  head^ 

He  is  a  sage,  I  doubt  not ;  he's  a  scholar ; 
But  he  is  always  preaching,  moralizing 
And  talking  wiselj'.     I  am  sick  of  it. 
It  bores  me,  it  annoys  me.     How  shall  I 
Find  time  to  read  the  book  of  Odes?     I  must 
Be  filial,  must  behave  decorously; 
I  must  observe  rules  of  propriety — 
There  is  no  leisure  left  for  anything. 

Enter  an  old  man  (O.  Al.)  with  his  son  (Son). 

O.  M.  Pray,  sir,  is  here  the  court  where  I  can  find  his  high 
honor,  the  Lord  Minister  of  Justice? 

Li.  Do  you  refer  to  K'ung  Fu  Tze? 

O.  M.    Indeed  I  do. 

Li  If  so,  this  is  the  place.     Here  K'ung  Fu  Tze  makes 

his  decisions. 

Son.  Father,  let  us  go  hence.  If  you  will  only  be  reason- 
able, I  will  do  what  I  can  to  satisfy  you. 

O.  M.  What  you  can  ?  No,  no,  I  know  what  that  means. 
You  shall  do  what  you  must.  You  are  my  son,  and 
you  must  obey.  K'ung  Fu  Tze  teaches  filial  piety 
and  he  will  punish  you  severely  if  he  hears  my  case. 
You  must  surrender  completely.  It  is  not  sufficient 
to  do  what  j^ou  can. 

Son.        Father,  let  us  go  back,  I  am  afraid. 

O.  M.  I  will  not  go  back.  I  will  complain  of  you,  and  his 
Honor  will  deal  with  you  as  you  deserve.  He 
will  probably  put  you  in  the  stocks;  your  feet 
and  your  hands  will  be  locked  and  you  will  carry 
a   placard,    "Punished    for   lack   of    respect    to   his 


56  K'uNG  Fu  TzE 

father,"  or  something  like  that.  I  will  send  your 
friends  to  the  marketplace  to  gaze  at  jou  and  you 
will  become  a  public  example  for  the  whole  town. 
All  your  neighbors  will  gather  around  you  and  mock 

J'OU. 

Son.        Father,  let  us  go  home. 

O.M.  No,  no!  I  will  have  judgment.  K'ung  Fu  Tze 
is  a  wise  judge.  He  will  teach  you  filial  piety.  He 
can  punish,  you  know ;  he  had  but  to  have  one  crim- 
inal executed  and  crime  almost  disappeared.  But 
he  had  to  have  one  man,  a  real  criminal,  executed. 
jVIaybe  he  \y\\\  have  you  executed,  too.  Think  of 
it.  There  are  so  many  different  kinds  of  criminal 
punishment.  I  do  not  know  what  manner  he  would 
select.     There  are  five  kinds  of  capital  punishment. 

Son.  O  father,  let  us  go.  I  am  not  so  bad  as  you  make 
me  out.  I  have  the  best  intentions.  I  will  do  all 
I  can. 

O.  M.    No,  no.     You  must  stay  and  hear  judgment. 

L'l.  I  will  call  my  father,  the  judge.     [7'o  the  father^ 

He  knows  of  your  case,  does  he  not?  You  were  here 
before  ? 

O.  M.  Yes!  oh  yes!  He  has  heard  us,  but  he  did  not  give 
judgment.  He  said  we  should  consider  our  case 
and  come  again.  So  we  have  come  again  and  here 
we  are. 

L'l.  I  will  call  His  Honor.     \_Exit'\ 

Son.         Father,  let  us  go  home. 

O.  M.  Oh,  no,  sir;  you  must  stay  and  hear  your  doom.  His 
Honor,  the  judge,  will  teach  )'^ou  a  lesson.  May  be 
he  will  simply  give  you  a  flogging. 

Son.  Oh,  father,  what  wrong  have  I  done  to  deserve  any 
punishment  at  all? 


K'uNG  Fu  TzE  57 

O.M.  Oh,  son.  son!  Do  >ou  not  know  that  it  is  very 
wrong  to  contradict  your  father  and  to  quarrel  with 
him?  Think  of  it!  That  is  what  you've  done. 
You  have  quarreled  with  your  father,  with  me,  with 
your  own  father! 

Enter  Confucius,  folloiced  by  magistrates  and  his 
disciples.  Seats  himself  before  the  screen.  The 
old  man  and  his  son  prostrate  themselves. 

C.  You  have  come  back,  you  two,  to  hear  my  judgment, 

But  I  am  loathe  to  give  it.  I  will  wait 
Till  ye  among  yourselves  have  peaceably 
Arranged  your  quarrels. 

O.  M.  But,  sir,  he  is  my  son, 

I  am  the  father  of  this  obstreperous  boy. 

C.  [Slou'ly]      I  see  you  are! — I  understand  that  you 

Have  educated  this  your  wayward  child. 
He  may  be  bad.     But,  say,  who  bears  the  guilt 
If  not  the  father  who  has  failed  to  teach 
His  son  the  rules  of  filial  piety? 
My  judgment  is  to  send  you  both  to  jail 
And  keep  you  there  until  j^ou  have  made  peace, 

O.M.    What  do  you  say,  your  Honor?     Hear  I  right? 
Do  j'ou  regard  me  guilty,  me  the  father. 
Of  this  my  son's  great  faults? 

C.  Indeed  I  do 

And  I  shall  punish  you  e'en  as  severely 
As  him. 

O.M.  Me?     Me,  the  father? 

C.  Yes,  indeed, 

And,  as  it  seems  to  me,  this  is  but  fair. 

O.M.    Let  us  go  home,  your  Honor:  I  believe 
I  can  persuade  my  son  to  better  living. 

C.  Go  home,  and  do  not  dare  to  come  again 

Without  a  good  and  real  cause.     The  judges 


58  K'uNG  Fu  TzE 

Are  not  installed  to  hear  paltry  complaints. 
Where  fathers  are  true  fathers  and  where  sons 
Are  sons,  there  is  no  need  of  courts  and  judges. 
Exeunt  old  man  and  his  son.  Music  in  the  distance. 
C.  What  do  those  sounds  portend? 

Lu,  I'll  see,  my  lord.  [Goinff  to  the  door  and  looking 
out]  There  is  a  festive  procession  coming,  lord.  It 
seems  to  me  the  music  they  have  intoned  is  frivolous. 

C.  Indeed  the  tune  is  frivolous.     Who  is  this  company 

of  female  minstrels? 

Kung.  My  lord,  I  know.  I  see  it  now.  These  ladies  are 
the  singing  damsels  which  the  Duke  of  Ch'i  has  sent 
to  our  Lord  Ting,  the  Duke  of  Lu.  There  are  the 
thirty  span  of  horses,  too.  Oh,  how  they  prance! 
And  here  appears  Duke  Ting  himself. 

C.  I  fear  my  hour  has  come,  I  must  withdraw. 

The  Duke  is  sick  of  virtue,  sick  of  me. 
Sick  of  good  government.     Here  is  no  longer 
A  place  for  me.     I'd  better  leave  the  field 
To  sport  and  to  frivolities,  to  vice, 
To  flatterers  and  to  these  singing  damsels. 

C.  retires  slowly  to  a  corner  of  the  stage,  followed 
by  his  disciples.  The  armed  bailiff  of  the  court 
steps  aside.  The  music  continues.  Enter  DuKE 
Ting  (Ting)  with  retinue  and  singing  damsels. 

Chorus  of  damsels : 

Taste  the  sweets 
Life  can  give ; 
Laugh  and  love 
While  you  live; 
Taste  the  joys 
Which  we  bring. 
While  in  glee 
Merrily 
Songs  we  sing. 


K'uNG  Fu  TzE  59 

Join  us  in  our  wanton  play!     Hi  ho! 
And  enjoy  life  while  you  may.     Hi  ho! 

Confucius  and  retinue  exeunt.     Tze  Kung  re- 
mains on  the  stage,  and  approaches  the  Duke. 

Kung.     Duke  Ting,  most  Royal  Highness,  hear  me  speak. 
I  have  for  you  some  news  of  great  importance. 

Ting.      What  can  be  more  important  than  the  beauty 

That  now  surrounds  us?     But  speak  on,  Tze  Kung. 

Kung.     Your  councilor,  your  Highness,  K'ung  Fu  Tze, 
Who  has  done  glorious  service  in  your  state 
Will  take  his  leave  unless  these  damsels  go. 

Ting.      Indeed!     Think  you  that  K'ung  Fu  Tze  will  go? 
I  shall  be  glad  to  so  be  rid  of  him. 
He  acts  as  my  bad  conscience  and  he  grudges 
My  every  joy  in  life ;  and  me  he  blames 
For  every  mishap,  every  accident. 
When  our  ancestral  temple  burned,  he  claimed 
That  my  ancestors  were  enraged  at  me 
And   would   refuse   me   further  help.     They   were 
No  better  than  I  am. 

And  all  my  neighbors 
The  Dukes  of  Ch'i  and  Wei,  the  emperor 
At  Lo  and  all  the  princes,  enjoy  themselves, 
Why  should  not  I  ?     And  you,  my  friend,  Tze  Kung, 
You  should  be  wise  enough  to  understand 
That  drinking  vinegar  instead  of  wine 
Is  not  a  sign  of  virtue  but  of  folly. 
Come,  Kung,  and  join  me  in  my  gaity; 
Be  my  companion  in  the  place  of  K'ung. 

Kung.     No,  sir;  I  cannot.     I  would  rather  starve 
With  K'ung  the  sage  than  live  in  opulence 
On  royal  bounties  here  amid  these  pleasures. 
So  fare  j'ou  well!     We  leave  you  to  your  pastimes. 

The  damsels  again  dance. 


60  K'uNG  Fu  TzE 

Chorus  of  damsels: 

Taste  the  sweets 

Life  can  give; 

Laugh  and  love 

While  you  live ; 

Taste  the  joys 

Which  we  bring, 

While   in   glee, 

Merrily, 

Songs  we  sing. 

Join  us  in  our  wanton  play!     Hi  ho! 

And  enjoy  life  while  you  may!     Hi  ho! 

SCENE  n. 

A  Scene  on  the  Road,  in  497.     Confucius  is  seen 
on  his  travels. 

Kung.     How  grand  this  scenery  of  Tai  San, 

The  mountain  range  which  separates  me  from  Lu! 

C.  How  beautiful  those  cliffs,  but  difficult 

They  are  to  travel  through,  impervious  to  the  foot. 
Hand  me  my  lute,  friend  Kung. 

Kung.  Here  'tis,  dear  Master. 

C.  [Plays  lute  and  in  a  melodramatic  voice  recites  the 

poem  of  Tai  San} 

Would  rise  to  the-  lofty  peak ; 
Ravines  and   cliffs  debar. 
So  truth  though  ever  near 
Is  to  the  seeker  far. 
How  wearisome  to  me 
Those  tangling  mazes  are. 
I  sigh  and  look  around, 
The  summit  in  full  view: 
With  woodlands  it  is  crowned 
And  sandy  patches,  too. 


K'uNG  Fu  TzE  61 

And  there  stretch  all  around 

The  highlands  of  Lian  Fu. 

Thickets  of  thorns  prevent 

Any  ascent. 

No  axe  is  here 

A  path  to  clear; 

The  higher  we  are  going 

The  worse  the  briars  are  growing. 

I  chant  and  cry, 

And  while  I  sigh 

My  tears  are  freely  flowing. 

Rung.     My  Master,  do  not  yield  to  gloomy  thoughts. 
Perhaps  the  crazy  man  of  Tsu  was  right. 
That  you  had  best  the  bygone  left  unmended. 

C.  What  did  he  say? 

Rung.  He  spoke  of  you  in  a  little  verse,  in  tone  humorous, 
almost  satirical,  but  there  was  much  truth  in  his 
words.     He  sang: 

"O  Phoenix,  oh  Phoenix,  thy  virtue  is  pinched! 
The  bygone  is  ended  and  cannot  be  mended: 
But  truly  the  future  can  still  be  clinched. 
Cease,  ah!  continue  not! 
For  statesmen  today  are  a  dangerous  lot." 

You  took  a  deep  interest  in  him  at  the  time. 

C.  I  did,  indeed,  and  his  queer  rhyme  is  true. 

Virtue  is  pinched  and  statesmen  verily 

Are  dangerous. 
Rung.  And,  Master,  let  me  add. 

Truly  the  future  can  and  must  be  clinched. 

You  stand  up  for  the  right  and  I  believe 

The  right  must  finally  be  recognized. 

C.  Tze  Kung,  see  here.     These  fragrant  orchids 

Grow  by  the  wayside  mixed  with  common  grass. 


<32  K'uNG  Fu  TzE 

Flowers  they  are  of  royal  worth,  but  here 
They  stand  unheeded.     Such  is  the  sage's  fate. 

[He  fakes  his  lute  and  plays.     He  sings:] 

So  gently  blow  the  valley  breezes 
With  drizzling  mist  and  rain, 
And  homeward  bound  a  stranger  tarries 

With  friends  in  a  desert  domain. 
Blue  heaven  above!  for  all  his  worth 
Is  there  no  place  for  him  on  earth  ? 

Through  all  the  countries  did  he  roam 
Yet  found  he  no  enduring  home. 
Worldlings  are  stupid  and  low, 
They  naught  of  sages  know. 
So  swiftly  years  and  days  pass  by, 
And  soon  old  age  is  drawing  nigh. 

Analects,  III,  xxiv. 


ACT  V. 

SCENE   I. 

The  Garden  of  Confucius  in  479  B.  C.  A  tabU 
u'ith  a  lute  and  two  chairs.  In  the  background 
a  house  from  which  CoNFUClUS  is  coming.  He 
looks  feeble  and  carries  a  staff.  Dragging  his 
staff,  he  approaches  the  table  and  sits  down.  His 
appearance  is  ivorried  and  he  lets  his  fingers  run 
over  the  lute.     Enter  TzE  KuNG. 

Kung.     My  Master,  oh,  my  good,  beloved  Master, 
How  did  you  pass  the  night? 

C.  Tze  Kung,  my  friend, 

Why  do  you  come  so  late? 

Kung.  Master,  I  thought 

You  needed  sleep;  but  you  have  risen  early. 

C.  I  dreamt  ill-boding  dreams. 

Kung.  You  are  not  well. 

And  you  were  restless  in  your  sleep  last  night. 

C.  I  dreamt  that  I  was  sitting  in  the  hall, 

Between  the  central  pillars,  offerings 
Before  me,  as  was  custom  of  the  Yin. 
According  to  the  ancient  ritual 
The  dead  was  treated  as  a  guest  and  placed 
Above  the  eastern  stairs,  but  then  the  Yin 
Regarded  him  as  host  and  guest  at  once, 
And  so  they  coffined  him  between  the  pillars, 
Down  in  the  hall.     The  Chow  treat  him  as  guest, 


64  K'uNG  Fu  TzE 

So  now  he's  placed  on  top  the  western  stairs. 
I  am  a  man  of  Yin  and  I  belong, 
Between  the  pillars  in  the  hall.     That  dream 
Portends  the  truth.     My  time  has  come  to  die. 

Kung.     Not  yet,  my  Master. 

C.  Life  has  been  a  failure; 

My  son  is  dead  and  he  accomplished  naught. 
But  worse  was  the  bereavement  which  I  suffered 
Through  the  demise  of  my  belov'd  Yen  Hui. 
He  was  too  gentle  for  this  world  of  trouble; 
Too  kind,  too  noble  and  too  wise.     His  hair 
Bleached  early,  ere  he  reached  his  thirty  years, 
And  when  but  thirtj'-one  he  passed  away, 
He  who  should  have  succeeded  me.     'Tis  he 
Who  was  my  best  disciple.     Since  he  died 
I  feel  that  heaven  has  rejected  me. 

Kutiff.     My  dear  old  Master,  do  not  speak  in  gloom. 

C.  I  speak  but  as  I  feel.    In  better  days 

I  used  to  see,  when  seated  at  the  table 
At  dinner  time,  before  me  at  my  place 
The  noble  countenance  of  Yao  Ti ; 
And  when  I  raised  my  eyes  I  plainly  saw 
The  great  Shun  on  the  wall.     I  have  not  seen 
The  Duke  of  Chow  in  dream  as  formerly. 
He  was  a  blessing  in  my  life,  a  source 
Of  comfort,  but  I  am  as  if  abandoned 
By  all  the  spirits  of  the  past,  the  heroes 
Of  our  antiquity,  our  ancient  culture. 

Kung,     You  are  discouraged  by  disease,  good  Master. 
Remember,  you  are  one  of  our  great  men. 
You  are  a  sage,  yea  truly   the  Great  Sage. 
As  great  as  any  one  among  the  ancients. 

C.  I  dare  not  rank  myself  among  the  sages 

Nor  with  the  men  of  perfect  virtue,  Kung. 
I  simply  strive  to  be  a  teacher,  patient 


K'uNG  Fu  TzE  65 

And  diligent.     I  love  the  ancients  dearlj\ 
And  am  but  a  transmitter,  not  a  maker. 
The  best  of  me  is  but  a  composition 
Of  greater  ones  that  have  preceded  me. 

Kung.     Your  declaration  proves  your  modestv, 
For  certainly  the  greatness  of  the  past 
Has  taken  its  abode  in  you. 

C.  Yea,  Kung. 

This  much  is  true,  that  after  great  Wen  Wang 
Heaven  revealed  the  truth  in  me :  and  heaven 
Will  not  allow  the  cause  of  truth  to  perish. 

Kung.     The  glory  of  the  past  will  never  die! 

Have  j'ou  not  left  us  treasures  everlasting? 
You  have  collected  the  five  sacred  scriptures 
And  also  the  four  books ;  j'^ou  have  instructed 
In  j'our  great  doctrines  many  worthy  men. 

Enter  K'uNG  Chi   (Chi),  the  grandson   of  Con- 
fucius. 

Chi.  Do  I  intrude? 

Kung.  Your  grandfather's  not  well. 

C.  K'ung  Chi,  my  grandchild,  you  are  welcome,  boy. 

Chi.  Grandfather,  can  you  spare  me  a  few  moments? 

C.  I'm  listening,  my  boy,  what  is  your  wish? 

Chi.  I  want  to  have  instruction  in  your  doctrines. 
It  is  but  proper  that  a  child  should  learn 
His  father's  trade,  his  business  or  profession. 
Why  should  I  be  excluded  ?  Your  life's  aim 
Is  so  much  grander,  nobler,  so  much  higher, 
Than  that  of  others.  All  the  more  I  should 
Become  proficient  in  the  work  you  do. 

C.  You  still  are  young,  my  boy,  but  I  consent. 

For  I  feel  confident  that  j'ou  will  take 
The  place  of  my  deceased  disciple  Yen, 


66  K'uNG  Fu  TzE 

My  much  beloved,  greatly  lamented  friend, 
Tze  Yuan. 

Kung.  Take  here  some  of  grandfather's  books 

And  read  them,  boy.     You  may  not  care  for  this, 
The  book  of  Rites,  nor  for  the  Odes,  but  here 
The  book  of  History  will  please  you  surely. 

Chi.  Thank   you,    dear   sir.      [Turning    to    Confucius] 

Thank  you,  grandfather,  thank  you  very  much. 
But  I  should  also  like  to  have  the  Odes.     E'en  in  the 
book  of  Rites  I'm  interested. 

Goes  off  with  the  books, 

Kung.     Posterity  will  yet  hear  of  K'ung  Chi, 

The  grandson  of  the  greatest  sage  of  China, 

And  thou,  dear  Master,  with  such  a  descendant 

As  Chi  shouldst  not  complain.     Do  not  expect 

That  thou  canst  be  successful  during  life, 

For  while  thou  livest,  jealousies  will  be, 

There  will  be  puny  minds  who  grudge  thee  honors 

And  influence  and  power.     But  do  not  be 

Discouraged.     Thine  ideals  are  eternal 

And  they  will  live  when  thou  hast  passed  away. 

When  all  the  mortal  part  of  thee  is  gone 

Thy  truer  self  will  gain  due  recognition. 

Thou  wilt  be  greater  after  death,  dear  Master, 

Than  thou  hast  been  in  life,  and  emperors 

Will  bow^  before  the  grand,  divine,  deep  truth 

Which  thou  hast  taught. 

Tze  Kao  enters  hurriedly  and  bows  to  Confucius. 

C.  Tze  Kao!     So  unexpected! 

Kung.     We  thought  you  and  Tze  Lu  were  still  in  Wei ! 

Kao.       Indeed  I  was,  but  managed  to  escape. 

Kung.     And  where  is  Lu?     Has  he  remained  in  Wei? 

C.  I  fear  the  worst.     Tze  Lu  is  brave  and  faithful. 

I  always  said  that  he  was  not  to  die 


K'uNG  Fu  TzE  67 

A  natural  death.     I  know  the  state  of  Wei 
Is  in  rebellion.     Tell  me  all  you  know. 

Kao.       The  rebels  gained,  and  I  advised  the  Duke 
To  leave  the  capital,  but  he  thought  little 
Of  my  incompetent  advice.     He  stayed 
And  with  him  Lu.     To  tell  the  story  briefly, 
The  palace  was  surrounded  by  a  mob 
To  kill  the  Duke;  and  Tze  Lu  stayed  with  him. 
He  charged  his  enemies  with  fearless  courage. 
Felled  some,  but  finally  was  overcome. 
Thereafter  fell  the  Duke  himself. 

C.  Alas! 

Tze  Lu!  my  noble,  brave  Tze  Lu!     But  you, 
Tze  Kao,  you  escaped  the  rebels. 

Kao.  Perhaps 

The  mob  spared  me  because  I  was  too  ugly; 
Thej'  did  not  deem  me  worthy  of  their  steel. 
I  am  too  insignificant  and  dwarfish. 
I  am  a  puny  fellow,  and  against  me 
E'en  criminals  are  generous  and  kind 
And  noble  hearted.     Some  most  envious  fellow 
Who,  having  done  great  wrong,  was  led  before  me 
While  I  still  serv^ed  as  magistrate  in  Wei, 
And  I  as  judge  condemned  him  by  the  law 
To  lose  his  leg.     Now  think!     I  on  my  flight 
Was  suddenly  confronted  with  that  man. 
Yea,  then  I  thought  I  had  escaped  in  vain, 
This  one-legged  scoundrel  would  surrender  me 
And  make  me  die  a  martyr  for  the  cause 
Of  law  and  order.     But  that  he  did  not  do. 
He  recognized  me,  greeted  me  right  kindly 
And  pointed  out  to  me  a  safe  escape. 
Said  I  to  him:     "And  don't  you  hate  me,  then. 
Because  I  had  you  punished  ?"     "No,"  said  he, 
"For  you  were  judge  and  had  to  do  your  duty. 
I  noticed  then,"  he  said,  the  one-legged  villain, 
"That  you  were  not  ill-willed,  as  judge  in  court. 


68  K'uNG  Fu  TzE 

That  you  were  loath  to  have  the  law  enforced. 
You  are  in  trouble  now  and  might  be  slain, 
It  would  not  help  me  to  deliver  you 
Into  the  hands  of  these  bloodthirsty  rebels. 
Flee,  then,  and  save  yourself  and  when  you  come 
To  Lu,  greet  K'ung  Fu  Tze,  your  worthy  Master. 
May  the  time  come  when  he,  the  sage,  will  bring 
Peace  upon  earth  and  make  men  well  disposed." 

C.  Thou  art  my  good  disciple,  Kao  Tze, 

And  provest  true  my  doctrines.     I  am  grateful. 

Kao.       The  one-legged  man  deserves  your  thanks,  not  I. 
He  is  a  thinker  and  he  argued  thus: 
The  age  is  rotten.     That  is  what  he  said, 
Rotten,  he  said.     The  princes  live  for  pleasure 
The  magistrates  and  judges  are  appointed 
For  flattery  and  they  take  bribes ;  and  truly 
There  is  no  law  or  order  in  the  world. 
Honesty  does  not  pay,  and  criminals 
Remain  unpunished.     That's  the  rule,  he  said. 
"And  you,  alone,"  addressing  me  he  said  it, 
"And  you  alone  made  an  exception,  sir. 
Wherever  such  a  state  of  things  prevails 
There  is  no  use  in  striving  to  be  honest. 
And  so  I  went  astray.     Yes,  I  did  wrong 
And  I  deserved  the  punishment  you  gave  me. 
You  told  me  at  the  time — and  I  remember 
The  lesson  which  you  taught — let  villains  know 
That  there  is  law  and  order  in  the  world. 
That  they  can  make  with  honesty  a  living, 
That  justice  will  reward  the  good  and  punish 
The  evil-doer,  then  they  will  reform. 
If  I  had  lived  in  orderly  conditions, 
Nor  seen  that  villains  triumph  and  the  good 
Were  suffering  merely  for  their  meekness'  sake, 
I  would  not  have  transgressed  the  middle  path." 
That  is  the  reason,  venerable  Master, 
Why  he  believed  in  you. 


K'uNG  Fu  TzE  69 

C.  And,  I  will  add, 

You  see,  my  friends,  that  man  is  good  by  nature  ; 
'Tis  bad  example  only  that  perverts  him. 
The  people  would  be  good  if  but  their  princes 
Would  models  prove  themselves  to  be  of  virtue. 

\Turning  to  Kao\ 

You  are  of  stunted  growth,  but  you  are  wise ; 
Your  mind  is  well  developed  and  jour  wit — 
It  does  me  good  to  see  you  ere  I  die. 

Kung.     We  hope  to  have  you  with  us,  and  enjoy 
Your  wisdom  still  for  many  j^ears. 

C.  No,  No, 

My  course  is  run.     'Tis  but  a  short  time  since 

A  lin  \\as  captured  by  the  ducal  hunters. 

I  went  to  see  the  noble  animal 

And  truly  'twas  a  lin.     For,  as  you  know. 

That  noble  animal  appears  whene'er 

A  sage  superior  lives  upon  the  earth. 

A  lin  arrived,  'tis  said,  the  very  day 

When  I  was  born ;  and  now  the  lin  is  dead. 

Kung.     Sir,  do  not  take  that  fact  so  seriously. 

C.  What  other  explanation  can  there  be? 

\_He  takes  the  lute  and  plays] 

Huge  mountains  wear  away,  Alas! 
The  strongest  beams  decay,  Alas! 
And  the  sage  like  grass 
Withers,  Alas! 

Kung.     You  make  me  despondent.   Master.        If  you  lose 
courage 
What  shall  become  of  me! 

[He  sits  down  J  takes  the  lute  and  sings.] 

If  the  huge  mountains  crumble,  say 
Whither  mine  eyes  shall  wend? 


70  K'uNG  Fu  TzE 

If  the  strong  beams  will  rot  away 
On  what  shall  I  depend  ? 
If  sages  wither  like  the  grass 
From  whom  shall  I  then  learn,  alas? 

C.  My  course  is  run,  and  death  is  near  at  hand. 

I  have  grown  old  and  feeble.     There's  no  prince 
Will  offer  me  the  place  of  his  adviser. 
My  doctrine  now  is  finished. 

Kung.  Yea,  finished,  sir! 

It  is  completed,  but  it  has  not  ended; 
It  but  begins.     The  world  will  come  to  you, 
Sit  at  your  feet  and  follow  your  advice. 
I  see  as  in  a  vision  the  whole  nation 
Worship  the  sage  of  sages.     Emperors 
Will  build  you  temples  and  bring  offerings. 

C.  Thou  art  a  comfort  to  me,  Kung,  my  friend. 

[Kunff  takes  the  lute  again  and  sings.^ 

Kung.  If  all  would  go  away 

I  will  not  leave  my  Master; 
With  him  I  mean  to  stay 
Through  sickness  and  disaster — 
Aye,  aye,  forsooth. 

Will  stay  unto  the  end 
Till  death  the  cord  has  torn. 
And  as  his  nearest  friend 
Will  at  the  tomb  still  mourn — 
Aye,  aye,  forsooth. 

The  rest  of  all  my  life  shall  be 
Devoted  to  his  memor}'^ — 
Aye,  aye,  forsooth. 

Head  of  Confucius  sinks  gradually  upon  the  table 
as  if  falling  asleep.  The  background  opens  and, 
surrounded  by  clouds,  the  Confucian  temple  at 


K'uNG  Fu  TzE  71 

Kii  Fu  appears  icith  the  sage's  image.  The  em- 
peror Kao  Tsu,  the  founder  of  the  Han  Dynasty, 
is  seen  ivith  retinue.  He  is  offering  incense. 
While  the  ceremonies  are  in  preparation  and  the 
celebrant  mandarins  are  marching  up  KuNG  ad- 
dresses Confucius. 

Rung.     O  Master,  listen  to  my  prophecy 

As  in  a  vision  I  behold  the  future! 

Thy  doctrine  will  take  root  in  human  hearts, 

The  people  flock  to  thee,  and  emperors 

Will  honor  thee  with  holy  sacrifice. 

A  d3'^nasty,  a  great  new  dynasty, 

Will  actualize  thy  thought,  and  it  will  rise 

Out  of  the  midst  of  sturdy  commoners. 

[Turning  to  the  scene  that  has  opened.  Rung  con- 
tinues.^ 

There  is  a  peasant  youth ;  'tis  Liu  Pang, 

Good-natured,  afifable  and  much  beloved 

Among  the  villagers  of  P'ei.     Liu  Pang 

Is  destined  to  accomplish  deeds  of  greatness. 

He  leads  his  men  to  victory,  for  great 

Prince    Hwai,    whose    cause    he    has   espoused,    but 

heaven 
Reserved  the  throne  for  the  great  commoner 
Known  to  the  world  as  Emperor  Kao  Ti. 
I  see  thee  now  before  me.     Praise  to  thee 
For  exercising  clemency,  for  stopping 
The  fury  of  the  troops,  and  teaching  victors 
Stern  discipline  and  mastery  of  self. 
Great  Kao,  praise  to  thee,  for  abrogating 
The  old  barbaric  penal  code ;  for  being 
Humane  upon  the  throne!     Thou  comest  to  teach 
The  people  culture.     Thou  hast  wisdom  learned 
From  K'ung  Fu  Tze.     It  is  the  Master's  spirit 
That  moves  in  thee  and  guides  thy  government. 
I  see  thee  now  approach  the  sacred  spot 


72  K'uNG  Fu  TzE 

Where  on  the  grave  of  the  great  saint  a  temple 
Has  been  erected.     Hail  Kao  Ti !     Hail !     Hail ! 

Here  follows  performance  of  ritual. 

Kung.      ITurniftff  to  C] 

O  K'ung  Fu  Tze,  this  is  thine  after-life. 

See  here  the  honor  given  unto  thee, 

And  listen  how  an  emperor  of  worth, 

The  emperor  of  better  generations. 

The  victor,  strong  in  arms  and  kind  in  peace, 

The  founder  of  a  broad  and  glorious  culture, 

Devout  and  pious,  will  address  thy  spirit: 

Kao  Ti.  O  K'ung,  illustrious  and  all  complete ; 

Thou  ancient  Teacher  and  thou  perfect  Sage! 
Full  is  thy  virtue,  absolute  thy  doctrine. 
Among  all  humankind  there's  none  thine  equal. 
All  kings,  rulers  and  princes  do  thee  honor. 
Statutes  of  justice  thou  hast  handed  down. 
A  pattern  art  thou  unto  all  of  us. 
We  worship  thee  in  humble  reverence, 
And  filled  with  awe  we  sound  our  drums  and  bells. 


J 


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